The Smuggler and the Princess
by Doc Delray
Summary: All Rarity wanted was to get to sell her wears off world and get her name out there in the galaxy. All Simon Ortell wanted was to earn a few credits while getting away from the Mandos and their civil war. After a few mishaps, the pair are forced to rely on each other to survive as thugs, gangsters and assassins look to put an end to them both.
1. Prologue

Streaks of crimson stained the empty blackness of space as bolts of energy cut back and forth between two vessels as one gave chase to the other. At the head of the chase was a YT-2400 Light Freighter. A semi circular ship built primarily for hauling cargo from one end of the galaxy to the other. Every one of its blaster cannons had been turned to return fire uselessly at their pursuers. The bolts of energy collided ineffectively against the shields of the far larger Imperial Star Destroyer. The wedge shaped war ship was slower than the transport, but its weapons were far more devastating. This fact was proven effectively as several massive energy bolts easily ripped past the shields of the smaller craft striking the top mounted turret.

Sparks filled the inside of the ship as it rocked violently. Over the warning alarms and much expected panic the death scream of the ill fated gunner could be heard as his turret became a brief fireball. Those still alive of the crew did everything they could to keep their ship in one piece as they used and abused their superior maneuverability to stay alive.

"Damned Imps," The human at the pilot seat snarled over the sounds of sparking wires and explosions. "I thought you said this route would be clear of patrols, Serif."

The Cathar he had addressed steadied himself against the back of the pilot's chair. Though humanoid in many respects his species was far closer related to felines than anything else. His skin was covered in a light layer of dark grey fur with streaks of white intermingling throughout. Sharp golden eyes glared daggers at the empty void out in front of them as his mind clamored for a way out of this. Compared to the rest of his men he was far better dressed.

"Clearly they changed their patrol schedule to catch ships like ours off guard." He snarled into his ear as he gripped the chair tightly. "How soon can you make the jump?"

"We'll be clear of the gravity well in two minutes."

"Make it sooner." Serif cautioned him as yet another piece of the ship burst into a hail of sparks.

Tapping away at the controls in front of him, their pilot noticed something odd, "Hey boss, you sure about this jump, it takes us pretty far into Mandalorian space?"

"The Mandalorian Federation's border with the Fel Empire is the closest safe haven we can run to right now." Serif angrily pointed out to his subordinate. "Now, unless you want to explain to the Imperials why you decided to make a run for it when they ordered us to cut our engines, I suggest you make a jump to the coordinates given to you."

With a worried sigh the pilot began making the last few entries into his equipment. "Here's hoping we don't explode as soon as we enter hyperspace!"

As the Star Destroyer's gunnery crews zeroed in on the tiny maneuverable craft it suddenly shot off into the depths of space. Every surviving member of the crew held their breath as the pitch black of space was now replaced by a swirling tube of blue light. As the tension began to die down a collective sigh of relief arose from the spacers.

No longer preoccupied with the immediate threat of death, Serif's attention now shifted solely to the new situation at hand. "What's the damage to the ship?"

"We've lost the main turret and Gassix," One of his men quickly answered, "On top of that we're leaking fuel, there's no way we'll make it to Corellia like this."

"What about the cargo?" Serif asked in a barely calm tone.

"Still secure sir." He was quickly informed.

With that out of the way his gaze fell upon the pilot of the craft. "Now then, Varick, I'd like to know, why you decided to make a run for it when I told you to just do as the Imperials said."

He shot his boss a wry grin as he continued to tap away at the controls, "You kidding me, after what you told me was in that crate? Stopping for the Imperials is the **LAST** thing I wanna do with **THAT** on my ship. Speaking of, it's gonna cost a fat ton of credits to get'er fixed up, hope you got a plan for when we reach Mando space. Not too fond of showing up in bucket head central ya know."

Serif began slipping on a pair of black gloves as he went on. "I was planning on scrapping her to maybe scrape together enough credits to salvage this whole operation."

"Scrap'er, hah, flattered that you think we could get a few credits for what's left of the old girl, but don't you think that's a decision for the owner of the ship?"

"Oh, I do." Serif agreed as he rested a hand on his shoulder. "That's why I'll be taking her off your hands for you."

Before anything else could be said, Serif quickly grabbed him by the back of his collar and slammed his head into the console. Dazed and confused, he put up very little resistance as Serif proceeded to force him head first into one of the blown out control panels. As the live wires connected with human flesh, lethal jolts of electricity shot through the man's body. Serif felt very little of this, let alone any remorse, thanks to the lining of his gloves as he kept him held against the live wires. The cockpit quickly became filled with the stench of burnt flesh and hair as the body finally went limp and was allowed to drop to the ground.

Taking a deep breath, Serif began to slowly remove the now char encrusted gloves. "I'm sure you're all a little put off by my sudden burst of anger on poor Varick. So let me try to explain things to you all. We are currently trying to earn an obscene amount of credits by going behind the back of Shuga the Hutt. However, if we are caught, if we raise one too many red flags, Shuga will know what we're up to. I can guarantee you all that Varick's death will seem like a MERCY compared to what that Hutt does to us all!"

There was an uneasy silence amongst the group of rogues until one underling spoke up. "So, how do we move the stuff now boss?"

"Like I told Varick, repairing the ship is a waste of credits." Serif told them as he took over behind the controls of the ship. "But I know someone who can take care of this for us. Last I heard he was on his way to some rock the _Bucket Heads_ went and planted a flag on. Think it's called Gaia or something."


	2. A simple job

Just one more job, one more job and he'd be done with hauling cargo out here in the Mandalorian territories. At least that's what Simon Ortell kept telling himself as he made the last few adjustments to his controls.

He was a human and well in his prime and possessing a light build that somehow just barely avoided being considered thin or lithe with slightly tanned skin. His jade orbs held a strong gleam of defiance that one end of the galaxy to the next had instilled in the young man. A head of deep black hair was kept short but seemed to be a constant state of controlled chaos. The young space jockey was clad in attire befitting someone who jaunted from planet to planet: light weight, weathered, and made for just about all manner of terrain. All this brought together by a fading brown coat that had clearly seen far better days.

His eyes watched at seemingly endless tube of blue vacuum sped past the view port in front of him. He could feel the wear and tear on his senses starting to crash in on him. How long had he been out here picking up just about every job that came his way? It had only been a month, but it felt like years to him. Running from one world to the next, no questions asked.

Part of him was disgusted to admit this, but the current civil war between the current heads of the Mandalorian Federation and the terrorist sect Deathwatch had been good for business. War meant people needed things: guns, ammo, supplies. And despite the well oiled war machine that the Neo-Protectors were, sometimes it was easier and cheaper to just hire someone who had the guts and a ship to move these things for you.

Simon was certainly making credits hand over fist out here, but he was also getting a rather unwelcomed taste for actual combat. In the past month, Simon had dodged AA batteries, sniper fire, plotted a course between two capital ships as they tore one another apart, and even been shot. He was more than happy to have come across this current job.

With the war going on, every freighter jokey and cargo hauler from the core worlds to the outer rim was flocking in to make a quick stack of credits. To this end, a lot of low risk menial jobs where falling by the wayside and mostly being forced onto rookie pilots with no clout. Simon, however, had more than enough credits as of late and felt it was more than time to get out of Mandalorian space. He wasn't about to let himself get greedy only to end up as debris just like he'd seen happen to so many others.

This latest job was certainly one of those easy, boring, cushy jobs that most would pass up on. It didn't pay much beyond the minimum rate and there was really no risks or thrills to be had with it. One of those perfect jobs for someone to cut their teeth on and Simon's best excuse to head someplace a bit more civilized, like Nar Shaddaa. Some local on a newly found world that the Mandos had picked up was looking to move some cargo to Nak Shinmor.

As the walls of hyperspace faded away, Simon was greeted with a sight he had come to find all too familiar. A large collection of Mandalorian warships scattered about the star system, centralizing mostly near the large space station orbiting what looked to be the only habitable planet.

"So, this is Gaia." He muttered to himself. "Doesn't look all that special from here."

"Unidentified ship," A gruff voice grated its way over the com. "This is Gaia Defense One, you will identify yourself and state your business."

Rolling his eyes he took a calming half breath before replying. "This is Simon Ortell of the cargo vessel _Meaningless Venture_. I am currently en route to the planet surface to pick up a courier job. Request nearest available landing zone to the settlement of…" He quickly double checked the location of his client on the datapad sitting on his console, "Ponyville."

There was a long pause before a new warmer and far more welcoming voice came across the com, "This is Summer Song of Equestrian Air Traffic Control, we have you marked now, _Meaningless Venture_. Please head to the indicated coordinates now."

He had been warned ahead of time that the locals on Gaia were a bit "strange," but he certainly wasn't expecting such a friendly greeting from her. "Uh, roger that Summer Song, got the coordinates now, beginning my approach."

"Thank you, Captain Ortell. Please enjoy your stay here in Equestria."

Switching off his com, he could still taste the overt sweetness in the woman's tone. After dealing with so many battle hardened warriors, impatient commanding officers, and trigger happy soldiers she had been a strange but welcome change of pace.

His train of thought would get little time to finish its path however, as the familiar beeping and whistles of his only companion sounded from behind. Glancing around the high back of the chair, Simon spied astromech droid known as R8-Z7. Like all of his line, he was stocky utility mech built to house and contain a vast array of tools and gadgets for nearly any situation while propelled along by treaded feet on either side of his cylindrical body and one treaded foot located underneath the main body. Topped off with the rounded dome head that was classic amongst the astromech design, Z7's one dark green and gold paint job had long since started to fade over the years.

"Fine," He answered the droid, "I'll take the call in the main lounge. Take care of landing the ship, will ya Z7."

The stocky droid whistled excitedly in reply to its master as he left the droid to the controls.

Beyond the short hallway leading away from the cockpit was the ship's lounge. A fairly simple room lined with a few couches and seats built into the floor panels of the vessel. At the center of the room was a large rounded platform that displayed a holographic image of the planet and warships around it.

Taping the flashing button on the main console, the image was quickly replaced with that of someone Simon admittedly had not expected to see: a well groomed and dressed Cathar. "Serif Mallary," Simon stated in his most civil tone possible, "Been a while."

"C'mon now Simon, is that anyway to greet an old friend?" Serif asked in a hurt tone.

Simon could feel his blood starting to boil, how dare he play _that_ card on him. "Friend or not, I told you before, I don't do work for the Hutt Cartels."

"I'm not calling you for a Hutt gig." Serif replied quickly. "This is something personal alright. I hit a slight snag and you're the only person I can trust that's here in Mando territory. You know I wouldn't say this unless I really meant it, but… damnit… I need your help, Simon."

He wanted to cuss the mangy Cathar out for pulling at his loyalties like he was. Simon wished desperately that he was standing in front of him right now so he could maybe take a swing at him. But he had a point, Serif had always been too proud to ever ask for help for any reason. Even when they were part of the same shipping company, he would rather risk losing his ship, cargo, even his commission, so long as he did so without having to ask someone else for a hand.

"Alright, fine…" Simon lamented with an annoyed sigh, "I'll at least hear what you have to say."

"I hope you don't mind, but I'd rather speak with you about this in person." Serif pointed out cautiously. "Send me your coordinates, and I'll see about meeting you there."

"That's fine," now it was Simon with a hint of caution in his voice, "I'll see you planet side."

As the transmission cut out Simon couldn't help but get that same nagging feeling he had the day he caught a sniper round with his shoulder. Last time he'd checked, Serif was a fairly popular and powerful member of Shugga the Hutt's main forces. And yet here was running cargo like a common courier again. Not only that, but he wasn't willing to talk business over the com and whatever he was moving was enough to get his ship banged up to the point where it couldn't make the trip. Simon had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

Ponyville certainly wasn't anything like what Simon had expected. Granted, since coming out here to find work the most locations he'd seen were warzones and military installations. This was the first time he'd seen a right proper town in a long time. And it was already starting to rub him the wrong way.

It wasn't the locals. Despite being odd at first glance, they were nothing but friendly and welcoming towards the spacer as he trekked down their street. It was how clean and friendly everything around him was. Inwardly the freighter captain cringed at how everything about this place seemed designed to be disarming.

His gaze was met occasionally by the reminders of this being a world under Mandalore's protection however. The few scant warriors wandering about the town sans armor and chatting up the locals. Every now and then spotting one of these pony things using what was undoubtedly alien technology to them. He even caught sight of a small humanoid child running through the streets playing with a group of their young. It was all so very heartwarming, he needed to get off this planet as soon as possible.

It didn't take him long to locate the place he was looking for. He had found the majority of the town odd to begin with, but this current structure certainly was in a close second place with that building made to look like some kind of confection. Carousel Boutique, to call the building's design flashy was an understatement. The brightly colored walls with a clearly frilly motif to the structure, even at a glance it certainly left an impression on someone. He wasn't here to take in the architecture though.

As he entered the shop the tiny bell over the door announced his entry. The inside of the shop was just colorful as the outside. All around the main floor of the shop there were mock ponies clad in all manner of dresses and outfits. In the far corner a few humanoid mannequins were lined along the wall, dressed in similar fashions.

"Coooooooooooooming." A soft voice called from the back of the store.

One of the horned breed of ponies he'd seen around the town quickly came prancing from the back room. Her coat was a peerless white, a mane of violet tresses that had been expertly curled fell about her shoulders matched by the similar styling of her tail. Deep blue eyes met his gaze shining with a strong sense of intelligence.

"Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is unique, chic, and magnifque." She cooed happily. Upon seeing him she quickly began sizing him up. "Oh dear, you certainly came to me in the nick of time. That outfit is clearly in need of some drastic help."

"I… wait, what?" This was not what Simon had been expecting, something that was becoming a theme on this planet. "What's wrong with my clothes?"

"Oh darling, where to start," she sighed in exasperation, "firstly you look as though you've bought nothing but off the rack at a thrift store. And my goodness, this coat is just atrocious." A blue hued energy encased a portion of his coat and floated it up to show him the fraying edges at the hem. "This thing belongs in the trash, dear."

Simon's neutral expression quickly scrunched up in annoyance as he snatched the coat from her grasp. "I happen to like this coat." He growled at her.

Rarity took a step back out of surprise by his reaction. "Oh, I'm sorry darling, but you have to agree the poor thing has seen far better days."

This was quickly becoming frustrating for the spacer. "Look, I'm not here about updating my wardrobe. Are you the one who put out that job offer to move cargo to Nak Shinmor?"

A look of realization quickly entered her features before a touch of red bled through her cheeks. "Oh dear, how embarrassing. I am SO sorry about that darling. I had assumed you were a customer." With a warm smile she offered her hoof to him. "I am Rarity, the owner of this shop and the one who posted the job."

Simon was hesitant at first before finally taking her hoof firmly in his grasp and keeping his eyes locked tightly with hers. _A good handshake is the most important part of a first impression_, is what his old mentor used to tell him. "Simon Ortell; a pleasure, I'm sure."

The talk of business and payment went by rather smoothly. After an hour the pair had reached a reasonable agreement before he made his exit from the boutique. Part of Simon's heart leapt a bit as he realized that within a few hours he would light years away from the damnable Mandalorian sector. All he had to do now was meet up with Serif and get all of this cargo onto the _Venture_, and he'd be well on his way. He hated admitting it, but he could feel himself starting to smile from ear to ear.

* * *

Rarity felt as though she might start jumping for joy with a school filly squeal. After all the pain she and her friends had gone through since that fateful day in the Everfree Forest, things were going her way. Her human designs were starting to gain popularity amongst those visiting the planet, and now a shop not unlike her own had contacted her about selling her creations offworld.

Her dreams of being one of the most recognized designers in Equestria were quickly becoming dwarfed by far greater aspirations. No, one single nation on one single planet wasn't good enough, not anymore, not after everything she'd seen and done. The best in Equestria felt too much like third place, Rarity was anything but the bronze medalist. Her vision was now settled on something far grander, she was going to become the most recognized fashion designer in the entire galaxy.

She could see it now, her face and her creations plastered across the stars themselves. Politicians, royals, and heads of state would all be wearing her meticulously crafted goods as they went from one important function to the next. Reporters from far and wide asking them that age old question, "Who are you wearing?" The answer sent shivers down her spine, "Rarity."

All she needed to do was get the small cargo pod she had put together in the back of the shop and take it to the spaceport just outside of Ponyville. She approached the trunk sized metallic box with its electronic locks with a sense of reverence. This vessel contained her future as she knew it, her key to the fashion world of the galaxy itself. It had to be treated with care.

The soft blue aura of her magic gingerly encased the crate and began lifting it off the ground effortlessly. She floated the container in mid-air beside her as she happily pranced out the front door of her shop, flipping the closed sign over as she went. As she made her way down the main street of Ponyville, she couldn't help but feel like her head was deep in the clouds as each step seemed to skip a bit.

Her trip to the now fully established spaceport was relatively short and completely uneventful. Once these dresses were where they needed to go though, it would all be more than worth it. She had been thinking on what she would do to celebrate this glorious day. Perhaps a trip to the spa, she would absolutely need to invite Mrs. Skirata considering she did so much to help Rarity even get this chance. Maybe Fluttershy could join them as well. Rarity had been dying to grill the Pegasus on her current relationship with that alien, Arkanna.

Her wandering mind, however, would prove to be quite the hindrance as she trotted her way through the automatic door leading to the hanger Simon had instructed her to meet him at.

* * *

Simon waited in hangar bay eight in the shadow of his ship. A Ghtroc 720 light freighter, it was an old model ship, but they had a reputation for being hardy and long lasting vessels. At first glance, many would akin the ship to being shaped very much like a flattened turtle. The main haul being a rounded body, two pairs of engines placed at the back and front much like legs, and the cockpit located at the end of a short neck. This particular one had been clearly modified and improved upon from its original factory standards quite a bit.

Just as Simon was about to lose his patience with Serif not showing up, the Cathar in question finally entered the hangar, accompanied by four well-armed men and a very large crate, sealed tightly with maglocks. Old friend or not, Simon couldn't help but feel that Serif had a bit more security than what was needed. Four armed men were keeping a close watch over their employer and the sizable mystery-crate that required transport. In his head, Simon had begun breaking down his chances of survival if his "friend's" bodyguards decided to blast him. The odds did not look good for him.

With a wide friendly smile, Serif closed the gap between himself and Ortell, "Simon! Hah, it's good to see you in person, you shuttle-rat."

Simon reasoned there was no reason not to be sociable as he returned the smile and embraced his old partner in crime. "Serif, I can see Hutt life is doing you good; must've put on twenty, thirty extra pounds?"

"Don't even start that with me string bean." He playfully cautioned him with a rough shove. "Trust me, it's all muscle. 'Sides, you'd have a bit more meat on your bones too if you'd taken Swifty's job offer all those years ago."

"Yeah, and look how things turned out for Swifty." Simon reminded him.

"Past mistakes aside," Serif pointed out, "we should get down to business. Would love nothing more than to catch up with you old buddy, but time is not something we can afford to waste on this one."

"You know the rules, Serif," Simon flatly stated, "half now, half on delivery; you don't need to tell me what's in the crate but I need to know where I'm going and who I'm meeting. And I work alone."

"You were always the better businessman than me." Serif stated with a grin. "Your contact is an Ubese by the name of Vrax, he'll be waiting for you at Star Forge Station in the Ado Sector."

Simon flinched a bit at the mention of his contact. "Ubese; don't tell me you're getting into bed with those savages now."

"Just the one, and he happens to do good work." Serif reassured him with a pat on the back. "As for the credits, don't worry about it, you know you'll be well taken care of-"

The door to the side of the hangar bay suddenly slid open, causing dead silence to grip all those assembled. All eyes were on the alabaster Unicorn who happily trotted in on the conversation, completely engrossed in thought and humming a happy tune to herself. They all stood in quiet surprise as she confidently trotted along, completely oblivious to what was going on around her.

Rarity's advance came to a sudden stop as the familiar sound of weapons and their safeties being taken off filled her ears. Her eyes darted about the room, finding weapon after weapon pointed at her. Most ponies and sentient life forms in general in this situation would understandably be on their knees, weeping and begging to be let go.

Rarity on the other hoof couldn't help but mutter, "For the love of… not again."

Serif brought his weapon to bear with Rarity's right eye as he glared down at the pony. "Little girl, you just took a very wrong turn."

"Yes well, it would appear so, good sir." She said a cool and polite tone. "I was looking for hanger four, but I'm afraid I'm having such a hard time reading the intergalactic standard. You wouldn't happen to know the way would you?"

He hadn't known the pony very long, but already Simon was getting the feeling there was more to this Rarity girl than met the eye. Here she was, staring down a firing squad, and she wasn't even blinking. He could've sworn it looked as though she was almost daring them to pull their triggers. Either way, he had to stop this before one of his employers killed the other.

Simon quickly clasped his hand over Serif's weapon to point it towards the ground. "Whoa, are you nuts!?"

All eyes were now on him, not exactly something he wanted deep down, but then again, he didn't want to see an innocent bystander get torn to shreds by blaster bolts. "Did you forget that we're standing in the middle of a Mandalorian spaceport?" Simon snarled at the group. "You fire those in here and those bucket heads will storm in and mow us down before you get another shot off."

"She's a loose end, Ortell!" Serif barked impatiently. "I don't think you fully understand just how much is at risk here."

Simon fought hard to keep his expression from changing, but it really did shock him just how much his old companion had changed in those years working for the Hutts. "I'll take care of her." Simon said in a deadpan tone.

Serif was clearly taken aback by this sudden shift in mood. Even Rarity seemed visibly shaken a bit by this sudden declaration as she took a step away from the human. This was probably about what she said about his coat.

"I'll take her up with me," Simon continued, "once we're a good distance away from the planet, I'll shove her out the airlock."

Serif's brow raised in curiosity. "That's pretty cold-blooded; especially for you, Simon."

"You don't want loose ends, I don't want to get shot by those Mando wackjobs, and we both want to make some credits." Simon said, doing his best to simplify the situation. "This is pretty much the quickest and easiest way to deal with her."

Rarity looked back and forth between the barrel of the blaster in her face, and the man saying he was going to throw her into the vacuum space. She quickly found her bravado starting to crumble away as she became slightly tempted to request the blaster bolt instead. At least that sounded like a far more pleasant death than the deathly grip of the void strangling her as she floated helplessly. Much to her horror, Serif relented to this offer.

"Alright then," He gave a motion towards his men. "You two, get the crate loaded up, you, get some binders on her and toss her on the ship, we need to move fast."

* * *

This certainly wasn't what Simon had expected when he woke up this morning. Maybe getting shot at, maybe running from law enforcement, maybe sneaking weapons and illegal goods into certain areas of space or planets. But playing host to his newly acquired hostage, that wasn't anywhere on the list.

As he went through the motions of prepping the ship for takeoff, he did everything he could to avoid looking over his shoulder. He made that mistake after they had left her still struggling bound and gagged form in one of the crew seats behind him. Those angry sapphires that seemed to just bore into his skull and rip into him, he knew they were there, he could feel them on the back of his head.

At least they were home free now. Once they jumped to hyperspace he would take her bindings off and explain the entire situation to her. Hopefully she wasn't so mad that she'd decide not to pay him.

* * *

Serif watched as the _Meaningless Venture_ lifted up into the sky before quickly shooting off into the distance. His eyes burned a critical stare along the ship's path. That was too easy. Too convenient of Simon to just up and decide he'd kill someone. Especially like that.

"Get on the holo," he commanded one of his goons, "tell Vrax the package is on its way."


	3. Off to a rough start

Hyperspace, scientists and eggheads would tell you that it's an alternate state of existence that one could use to travel faster than light. Simon didn't care about that or any of the technical jargon that went along with trying to explain how it all worked. All he cared about was that it did and now he and his "guest" were more or less home free.

Speaking of whom, Simon could still feel those eyes on the back of his head glaring a hole straight through him. Still, he couldn't just ignore her for the entire trip, granted things would probably work out a lot easier if he did.

Rarity had stopped grunting and snarling her words through the gag that had been tied around her snout, the wasted effort was starting to make her throat sore anyways. She had given up on struggling against the bonds that held her as well. A pair of binders around her forelimbs kept them pinned behind her back while another set restricted the movement of her back legs.

Uncomfortably left in one of the crew chairs of the cockpit, all the indignant fashionista could do is glare daggers at the back of her host's head while she awaited her fate. As the blackness of space quickly became replaced with a strange blue tunnel of light, it dawned on Rarity that she may not have to wait much longer.

Her eyes quickly darted about the cockpit for something she could use to her advantage. Computer consoles gave her no leverage, while she'd finally learned the ins and outs of using communication devices the use of higher functioning computers was far out of her breadth of knowledge. She caught glances of a short stocky metallic being rolling about the ship just beyond the cockpit whistling to itself. There was no way that thing could be of use to her, especially that far away. Finally was that over sized rag he called a jacket that seemed to be haphazardly hanging from a vacant chair, perhaps it could come in handy. Something beneath the jacket however was what truly caught her keen eyes for detail, a hint of something solid and metallic with a very familiar shape to it.

With a sigh of relief, Simon finally turned his chair to face the less than happy Unicorn slouched in the chair behind him. Cautiously he drew closer to her. His mind raced for a way to explain his actions and hopefully reassure her that things weren't going to be playing out as he'd told Serif. This being a less than ideal social situation however made this more than a little hard. That look she was giving him didn't make it any easier. It was like her eyes could probably melt carbonite.

"Okay, I know you're mad right now," Simon said in a calm even tone, "but I promise I'm not going to hurt you." Even he thought that clichéd line was forced.

Rarity let loose a stream of muffled grunts and noises that he could only guess were probably laced with one or two curses judging from the tone of them. "Okay, this isn't helping, we need a dialogue to straighten this mess out." Simon admitted with a sigh. "Now, if I take that gag off, do you promise to talk with me in a civil manner?"

With one last glare the captured Unicorn finally relented and nodded in agreement. Simon couldn't help but smile a bit at her cooperation. He probably should have guessed she'd be a lot more willing talking things out after their first meeting. Kneeling down next to her he started undoing the rather roughly tied knot around the back of her head.

"Good, most people in your position would be more inclined to screaming their heads off." Simon stated as he began removing the mouth restraint. "I think we got off on the wrong foot anyways."

The gag finally out of her mouth, Rarity gave her jaw a few flexes to get the sore feeling worked out of the muscles. Her deep blues zeroed in on Simon's eyes, they suddenly seemed unusually calm and welcoming after glaring so harshly at him for the past twenty minutes. Even more oddly out of place was that alarmingly soft smile she suddenly possessed.

"I agree completely, darling." She stated in a far too honey sweet tone as she batted her eyes at him.

Simon stared at her in blank confusion as he tried to make sense of this odd woman. Unfortunately, before it could hit him, something else hit him even harder. With a swift motion Rarity reared her back legs into her stomach before launching them forwards into Simon's unprotected stomach. With a gasp of pain, the human doubled over from the driving force of the blow as it tore into his gut.

The attack on her home town and the fight at the capital had taught Rarity quite a few lessons, first and foremost, the need to protect one's self. Having befriended quite a few of the Mandalorians that have made their homes in and around Ponyville, the fashionista had learned quite a bit about how to defend herself.

Not wanting to lose the momentum of the situation, Rarity pulled her back legs as tightly against herself as she could. Her back buried into the chair behind her as she let her legs rocket outwards for another blow. Simon, having dropped to one knee from the first hit, now had his chest right in the path of the irate Unicorn's second blow. As her hooves connected at full speed he felt as though his ribs buckle under the weight of the blow as he was knocked backwards into the control console behind him.

Rarity's horn flashed a blue aura that quickly enveloped her restraints. Clearly none of her captors had read up on Unicorn magic, or Force, or whatever those galactic types had taken to calling it. Pouring quite of a bit of her magic into the binders, they quickly shattered under the pressure freeing her. Her aura quickly grabbed one more, very important item while the advantage was still hers.

Simon's vision was blurry, but it didn't take a genius to realize what just happened. Those hooves of hers and the strength behind them, it was like taking a full on ogre punch from an angry Wookie. He could feel pain burning through his chest with every labored breath after that last blow. Simon was sure she had at least bruised his ribs with that hit. As he scrambled to return to an upright position, his hand quickly flew to the trump card hidden in his boot lining.

His hand immediately shot towards the holdout blaster concealed in his boot. Simon was understandably very angry about taking a pair of hooves to his gut and chest, but he honestly didn't want to kill her. He'd already seen that a weapon pointed at her seemed to get her compliance, so why not give it try himself? Before he could draw the small blaster though, a cold metallic feeling pressed into his temple.

Cautiously, Simon turned his gaze upwards to find his sidearm suspended in an aura of blue energy pointed right at him. Beyond that he found the steely gaze of a less than happy Rarity glaring at him from behind the weapon. His mind quickly leapt to the copilot's chair where he had laid his jacket over top of his gun belt. Quietly he cursed himself and his own thoughtlessness for making such a rookie mistake. Simon knew he was completely to blame for this current turn of events. He had underestimated the fashion designer, a mistake he would not be making again.

Rarity held tightly to that feeling of adrenaline rushing through her veins, it was the only thing keeping her from dropping the blaster and curling up in a ball like Fluttershy. She was in control of this situation and she had to keep reminding herself of that.

"I do apologize for the roughness, darling." She said in a calm even tone. "But I'm sure you understand my position at the moment. Now, if you would be so kind as to turn this vessel around and take me home, I would like to take my leave of your company and depart immediately."

Simon wanted that holdout blaster in his hand all the more now. How dare she give him orders on HIS ship! As angry as he was, he quickly realized that he still had a few more cards to play.

"How about no," Simon replied with a defiant glare as he stared her down.

The look on Rarity's face told him everything he needed to know, she hadn't expected this as his answer. "I don't think you realize your current standing in this negotiation, I have the gun."

"No, I don't think you realize the standings, _Princess_." He said in a mocking tone, "Let's assume you pull that trigger and burn a hole through my head? Then, you can try and pilot this extremely complicated piece of machinery back to that dirt ball you call home, assuming you can find it in the overwhelming vastness of space that is. Then you can deal with Serif, you know, that guy who wanted to pop your pretty head off your shoulders. I'm sure he'd LOVE to see you again."

Rarity felt herself trying to back away from the human as he rose to his feet and took a step towards her. The blaster suspended before her began to waver and shake as her will began to crumble bit by bit. She had only wanted to scare him into compliance, never really to shoot him. Her once cool exterior was starting to crumble and her supply of adrenalin was slowing to a halt.

Seeing his chance, Simon quickly swiped the pistol out of her grasp while snarling at her, "Now give me that thing before you hurt someone!" He quickly went about removing the power pack of the weapon as he continued his angry rant. "Take you home, do you know how stupid of an idea that is? Serif is still on your planet, are you trying to get yourself killed!? What do you think he's going to do if he sees you again, let alone sees that cargo pod he left with us?"

Simon's rant was about to continue on until he caught sight of something that brought him to a grinding halt. When he looked back at Rarity he saw the look of fear and worry on her face as he tore into her so carelessly. In the back of his mind, Simon began chastising himself. _Of course she hit you and took your weapon, she's scared! She's in over her head and you yelling at her is not going to make the situation any better._

Biting back on his anger, Simon returned to the controls of the ship keeping the back of his chair to her. "Look, sorry about the whole kind of kidnapping thing, but at the time it was the only thing I could think of to get you out of there." He said in a slightly more civil tone. "As soon as we get rid of Serif's package, I'll take care of your delivery and then get you home."

Rarity stared at the back of his chair with a touch of shock at his sudden shift in emotion. "You… you're still going to complete my delivery, but why?"

"I took your money and the job." Simon stated flatly as he pretended to work the controls. "You and I entered into a contract that clearly states that I have to get your goods to Nak Shinmor. I always complete my contracts, Princess."

A smile tugged at the edges of Rarity's mouth as a glimmer of hope returned to her less than desirable situation. Quickly though, something entered her mind. "I am very appreciative of your kindness, Captain Ortell, but just how long do you think this trip will take?"

Simon glanced over his shoulder at her before going back to his work. "Should take about two days, maybe a few more depending on stops and any complications,"

Rarity's jaw nearly hit the floor at this revelation. "Two days, is… is that an accurate assessment?"

Simon snickered a bit at her surprise. "I'll take that to mean you haven't spent much time out here." He said with a nod towards the viewport. "Modern hyperdrive units can get you from one end of the galaxy to the next real easy. Just sit back, relax and you'll be back in your shop in just a few days."

His words made sense at least. Rarity hadn't been as educated as Twilight when it came to scientific sort of things. She was smarter than your average Unicorn, in her humble opinion at least, but grasping the endless distances of space was more than a bit out of her realm.

"Quickly or not, Captain Ortell, we may still have a slight problem." Rarity called to his attention. "You see, my friends and family will notice me missing very soon and I can guarantee you that they will do something about it."

"Yeah, that could be a problem." He said nonchalantly. "So what do you expect me to do about it?"

"Well, I assume that this vessel has some form of long range communication device aboard it."

Simon could barely hold back the urge to laugh at her request as he turned his chair around to face her. "So, lemme get this straight, you knock me on my rear, pull my own blaster on me, and now you want to make a call? And just how stupid do you think I am?"

_How indeed_, Rarity mused inside her own head. "I don't think you understand, darling. I happen to be a pony with connections that lead all the way to both Princess Celestia and the _Mand'alor_ herself. My going missing so suddenly will not go unnoticed unless I let them know I'm fine. That is unless you'd rather take your chances with a Mandalorian Knight hunting you down to rescue me from your clutches." She added with a smug grin.

Simon's outlook quickly shifted to become a bit more serious as he looked her dead in the eye. "You're bluffing."

"I have no reason to lie to you, Captain Ortell," Rarity pointed out to him as she examined one of her hooves. "I am completely at your mercy as of right now, so holding anything back that would be advantageous to me would be ill advised as of right now. And besides that, a lady, my dear Simon, does not deal in bluffs."

Simon gritted his teeth as he fought back against his anger. Mandalorians were bad enough, but those Knights with their freaky Force powers were even worse. "Okay, fine, let's say I believe you. How do I know you won't trick me and call in some Mando hit squad once I let you have access to the holo-projector?"

"And how would I go about that?" Rarity asked with a look of growing annoyance. "I have no idea where you're taking me let alone where we are right now. Believe it or not, darling, we may just have to learn to trust one another. Especially with how long we are to be spending time with each other."

Simon found himself locked in an impossible staredown with the overly posh Unicorn. No matter how hard he glared into her deep blue orbs he couldn't seem to force her to budge even an inch on the subject. Biting down hard to force himself not to resort to simply yelling his head off at her, he finally felt himself giving into her demands.

"Ugh, fine, Princess, I'll get you into contact with your friends. But you double cross me and you'll find yourself stranded on Tatooine." He warned her.

Rarity gave an indignant snort at his comment as she turned her nose up at him. "Of all the nerve, really Captain Ortell, a lady does NOT go back on her word."

She took a moment to glance around the cabin before asking, "Now then, since I will be spending some time aboard this vessel, I assume sleeping arrangements shall be made?"

"I don't normally transport people," Simon told her, "so the bunks have been pretty much turned into a storage closets. You can sleep in the common room for the time being."

Rarity gave him a shocked, almost hurt, expression. "What, you can NOT be serious." She scoffed at him. "You expect me to sleep out on the couch? Have you no concept on how to treat a lady?"

"Hey, I saved your life," he was quick to remind her. "The least you could do is maybe be a little more grateful considering the situation!"

"Oh yes, I'm ever so very grateful to have been absconded with across the stars after having blasters pointed in my face yet again!"

"How was that my fault!? You're the one who walked in on our deal!"

"And what is it we're carrying?" Rarity asked with a sudden shift in mood to one far more calm and neutral.

Simon was clearly taken aback by her swift change in mood and the cold sternness in her gaze as she held his own in a vise grip. "I… No, no I'm not falling into that trap, Princess." He snarled at her. "Look, you don't need to know, and I sure as hell don't want to know. First rule is to never look in the package."

"So you have absolutely no idea what's in that sealed crate?" Rarity asked with a hint of disbelief. "For all we know that thing could be a bomb or even-"

"I scanned it before bringing it aboard." Simon cut her off, "There were no active electronics or any signs of explosive materials. I've been doing this for a few years now, Princess, I know better than to bring something like that aboard."

His words brought her just a small fraction of comfort. True, he no doubt had experience that she lacked in the field of interstellar transportation and he'd come this far in life without getting himself killed. Even worse still, should she somehow wrench control of the vessel away from him, she had no idea how to pilot it let alone get back home to Equestria.

With a sigh of defeat, the Unicorn bowed her head to him. "Alright then Captain, I will defer to your judgment on the subject. However I will still require a place to rest."

"We'll take care of it after we get this holo-call out of the way."

* * *

"And don't forget Fluttershy, darling, please don't forget to brush Opal's coat, she gets soooo matted if it isn't groomed regularly." Rarity instructed the holographic image of her friend who had been frantically trying to take notes.

Simon leaned against the doorway keeping himself out of sight of the projector's camera. For the past hour he'd monitored Rarity as she called what he assumed to be every damned resident of that village she came from. True enough though she'd kept her word and not once mentioned the incident at the spaceport or her technical kidnapping. Part of him wanted to believe she could be trusted because of this, but cynical spacer in him brought up no fewer than twelve moments where his trust had been betrayed, seven involving a pretty face.

As the image finally faded away with her final goodbyes, Simon let out a sigh of relief. "Alright, are we done calling every single person you know yet?"

Rarity glared at him inwardly while keeping on a pleasant face, it had only been three calls. "Not to worry, I just have one last call, darling, then we can be on our way."

"By all means, not like these cross galactic calls cost me anything." He grumbled as he watched her dial in the number.

After a few moments the image of what Simon could only describe as a miniature version of his guest appeared over the projector. The key differences being her hair and tail were mess of natural curls as opposed to Rarity's stylized look.

"Sweetie Belle, I was hoping I would catch you." Rarity proclaimed joyfully.

Simon did what he could to avoid eavesdropping on her conversation as she happily shared words with the tiny Unicorn. From what fragments made it his way, he'd learned that Sweetie Belle and Rarity were very close. They had gone on for what felt like an eternity talking about every little thing in the younger one's life, school work, friends, something called _Cutie Marks_, and he could have sworn he heard something about a rocket powered sled. All Simon could really hear, though, was sounds of credits being sucked out of his pockets as the conversation went on and on. Then something caught his attention towards the end.

"Goodbye little sister, I love you." Rarity said in a calm restrained tone to keep her emotions in check.

Simon glanced towards the posh Equestrian as she hesitantly ended the conversation. A pang of guilt entered him as he watched her stare sadly at the holo-projector where the image of her aforementioned sister had been. His jaw clenched as an all too familiar face and name entered his mind. How long had it been? No, he couldn't let himself dwell on this, not now. Not when he had a job to complete and absolutely not in front of her. Simon quickly squashed those rampant feelings as Rarity turned around to face him, it wasn't hard to spot the raging emotions behind those wide sapphires of hers.

A soft smile slipped over Rarity's face as she trotted towards him, "Thank you Simon, I know those calls were no doubt expensive and I promise I'll do whatever I can to pay you back."

"Yeah well, it's better than having them send a bunch of trigger happy bucketheads after us right?" He replied in a cold tone. "So, that's all of them right?"

"Yes, my movements are accounted for now." She assured him.

"Good, I don't like complications to a job." He stated flatly as he made towards the cockpit. "By the way," He added with his back still to her, "been thinking. I guess I can put Z7 to work on clearing out one of the bunks, make it a bit more comfortable for you. Till then you can use my room."

Coming to a full stop he quickly turned on his heel and brought himself eye level with her. "One rule, do NOT touch anything in there."

Rarity suppressed a chuckle at his attempts to seem imposing and intimidating, "Of course darling. You shan't find even a speck of dirt out of place upon your return." A pleasant smile returned to her features as she trotted past him, "Now that we have that settled, all we need do now is take care of the issue of my lack of clothes."

Simon could feel his eyebrow starting to twitch. "Pardon?"

"Well you can't expect me to go traipsing around in public with people thinking I was naked." Rarity said in a bemused tone.

"You mean you aren't already?"

"It's complicated dear." She said with a wave her hoof. "Now, if you would be so kind as to provide me with a few supplies to work with I'll be able to get to work immediately."

Simon did what he could to massage the throbbing pain in his temple away. "For the love of… it's just one thing after another with you isn't it?" He grumbled in frustration. Something told him that this was going to be a VERY long trip.


	4. Not so simple anymore

You could tell a lot about person by how they kept their bedroom; at least, that's something Rarity had always believed. The living room could be spotless and tidy to save face for company, but their bedroom was a place just for them. It was a place where somepony could truly relax, surrounded by their loves and private passions. Simon's room was certainly telling the mare quite a bit about him.

It was tidy to the point of being nearly spotless, something Rarity could certainly appreciate and respect. It was also very simplistic; a bed in the corner, a desk opposite the bed facing the wall, closet set up in another corner. There was nothing decorative, nothing to stylize the room, making it almost feel empty to her. The one thing that truly stood out about the room was that the wall on the far side of the room had been set up with lines of shelves, each one holding what looked to be long lines of electronic storage devices.

As she drew closer to examine them further, something upon the desk drew her attention. A photograph set in a simple, black frame sat upon the metallic surface. With a touch of blue aura, Rarity levitated the picture a bit closer to get a better look. She found herself staring Simon with a young woman who had her arm tightly looped around his neck in a headlock. The woman was clearly human, dark hair and shining green eyes with a scar on her left cheek, and looked to be rather strongly built. The location of the picture appeared to be a less than welcoming and rather dirty back alley. Run-down looking storefronts and grimy walls seemed to surround the pair, but despite all that they looked to be happy. She couldn't stop herself from staring at it; he looked so content.

Rarity couldn't help but dwell a bit on this mystery. The Simon she had seen thus far was a rather angry and, for lack of a better word, abrasive young man. This Simon in the photograph, however, was joyful and carefree. _What could have happened between landing on Equestria and when this picture was taken, I wonder?_ Her musings were brought to a halt as the footsteps of her host echoed from the hallway outside.

Simon trudged his way into the room with a metallic box tucked under his arm. "Alright, you can use any of the clothes I've got here-" He froze midsentence when he saw her floating the picture beside her. "What'd I tell you about touching the stuff in here?"

Rarity glanced at the picture before quickly placing it back on the desk with a wide, embarrassed smile as a touch of red bled through her coat. "Oh, I'm very sorry, darling. I didn't mean to overstep my boundaries."

She couldn't help but glance back at the photo before looking to her host. "So, who is that in the picture with you? You both look very happy together."

Simon gave her a hard glare before setting the box of clothes on the bed. "You don't need to know that."

The air in the room had quickly become very thick and uncomfortable. Her eyes quickly darted to the wall of electronics; yes, that would do for an out. "I was actually curious about these things over here." She stated with a motion of her hoof. "I am still more than a little fuzzy on any written language outside of my own. I was hoping you could tell me what all of these are. Books, perhaps?"She inquired with hopes that a quick change in subject just might help to improve the mood of the room a bit.

"Huh? Oh, uh, no; that's actually my holo-vid collection." He noticed a look of confusion in her eyes. "They're recordings of performances, like a play you can just watch at anytime. I don't suppose you've got something like that where you come from?"

Rarity nearly rolled her eyes at this question. "Oh, you mean movies. Well of course we do. We might not have space travel and are a bit behind the times on the subject of electronics, but we most certainly have such a thing as movies. Sadly though, Equestria's fledgling movie industry has not been doing so well I'm afraid. It just hasn't been picking up like so many had hoped."

Simon had been hesitant for a moment, but eventually he started taking her bait. "You… got any favorites?"

A hint of a smile slipped across her muzzle at the small opening she'd been given. "Well, a personal favorite of mine is a film by the name of _Fleurs d'amour_, a beautiful tale of a love-struck Earth Pony farmer and the noble Pegasus she pines for."

Simon let out a chuckle. "I should've figured you for a fan of romances."

"And what kinds of performances interest you, Captain Ortell?" She asked in a happy tone.

With a light grin he glanced at the wall of storage devices. "Honestly, I kind of doubt I could narrow it down. Holo-vids of just about any kind are a bit of a passion of mine."

Rarity gave a light hearted chuckle at this claim. "Considering how much is probably contained on each of those things, I would assume you have quite the diverse collection."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." He stated with a hint of pride.

That tiny voice in the back of his head came rushing back to him. It quickly reminded him about letting his defenses down, about how only trouble ever follows when he trusts someone. Simon pulled himself back into his mental shell.

"I'll let you get to your work." He stated in a flat even tone as he made for the door.

Rarity watched the young man's back as he walked away from her yet again. She still couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of sadness for the young man as she compared how he was now to the image in the photograph. Something else that plagued her curiosity was the identity of the woman he was with. Had something happened to her? An accident, or an incident perhaps?

_Stop that Rarity_, She chastised herself. _In a few days time you'll be back in Ponyville and he'll have disappeared into the depths of space. Whatever it is or was, it doesn't concern you. Don't be such a blasted busy body._

With a ragged sigh she levitated the first thing she saw at the top of the box, giving the garment a scrutinizing eye. "Oh dear, somepony clearly has no eye for fashion." She complained as she turned the dull, brown robe over in the air.

"Still, you have crafted masterpieces with far less before!" She cheered herself on as she began levitating the various garments from the box as she set about her work.

* * *

Nar Shaddaa, the gleaming moon of Nal Hutta. It has been known by a number of names throughout history, the Smuggler's Moon and Little Coruscant being the most well-known. To Serif Mallary, it was simply home. The Cathar mobster loved this grimy and gritty city world. He loved the undying lights, the smog-choked atmosphere and the constant roar of speeders and ships overhead. These were sights and sounds of both civilization and progress.

Serif relaxed into the back seat of his air car as it cut a path through the upper levels of the planet-wide city. His mind ran through all the angles that were in play as of right now. His product was well on its way to Star Forge, which meant it was only a matter of hours before it was put into circulation. Soon Vrax would have this package and all the trouble Serif had gone through would be a thing of the past. Despite the setbacks from earlier, he had to say it was a good day.

As the car touched down on a landing pad, he stepped out and couldn't help but grin at the massive tower in front of him. This was the base of operations for Shuga the Hutt and his organization. Unlike other Hutts, Shuga preferred a more businesslike approach to this lifestyle, as opposed to some opulent palace in the outer rim. Instead, he had a palace of the modern day: four hundred floors of office space and every single one of them dedicated to some aspect of his empire. Serif was going to take this empire for himself. It really was a good day.

Adjusting his suit jacket, he started towards the front doors of the massive sky scraper while flanked by his usual entourage: a collection of well-armed, well-trained and very well-dressed foot soldiers that stayed close to their boss' side. This feeling of power only gave him even greater fantasies of his eventual rise from the bottom rung to the top of this world.

The elevator ride to the top floor had been a quick one, thanks to modern innovations in technology. Serif soon found himself stepping off alone into the penthouse suite of the massive tower. A long hallway and a cleanly-kept office led the Cathar to the rooftop garden of the Hutt gangster. The sweet scent of expensive and rare foliage and endangered flowers flooded his senses, some of which played havoc on his overly-sensitive sense of smell. At one point this area had been a massive, open patio overlooking the rest of the city. On a whim, however, Shuga had turned it into a greenhouse complete with artificial sunlight and the works.

It wasn't too hard to find his Hutt employer. The hulking gastropod was taking care of some "business" in his beloved garden. A pair of burly guards kept a blubbering humanoid between them both as he begged over and over for mercy. Shuga showed no interest in his cries to be let loose as he continued to preen a vine of brightly colored flowers. A hungry grin slipped past Serif's self control; he always enjoyed watching these things play out.

"Please, master Shuga, I can get the money! I swear it!" The ill-fated man pleaded.

Shuga gave him a bored glance before grumbling something in Huttese that his ever-present protocol droid quickly translated. "The mighty Shuga is disappointed with you, Lazz. He says he expected you to be far more careful when stealing from him."

"I… I was desperate, Shuga…" He said in his defense. "My daughter needed that operation I told you about, and it was only a few hundred credits."

Shuga gave his reply in an angry growl before it was translated. "His greatness says that even stealing one credit is a grievous insult to himself and his operation." Another long growl in Huttese spilled out. "He says that every credit has been bought and paid for in the sweat and blood of every member of this organization."

On an unseen cue, one of the guards pulled a blaster from inside his coat and jammed the barrel into the captive's temple. This act caused him to lose control of his knees as tears began pouring from his eyes, and a long stream of pleadings for mercy escaped him. Before the trigger could be pulled, though, Shuga held his hand in the air, signaling his men to hold their fire. Turning to finally face his captive, Shuga drew closer as he spoke in a much more even tone.

"However, lord Shuga is not without his mercy." The droid informed him. "He understands that a man will do just about anything to take care of his family. That is why the great and benevolent Shuga the Hutt is willing to let you keep your life."

Falling to his hands and knees, the man crawled pathetically towards the towering Hutt as he wept uncontrollably. "Oh, thank you, thank you so much Lord Shuga, I-"

Shuga continued on quite sternly before he could continue. "The mighty Shuga will need you alive and well if you are to work off this great debt you have garnered with him." His droid informed him. "He wants you to know that you needn't worry about your family, either. They will all be doing their parts to pay off this most grievous debt."

The pair of guards grabbed their prisoner by either arm as they began dragging him away as he kicked and screamed, begged and pleaded. All the Hutt did was wave this display off before returning his attention to his garden.

Having spent so much time working for the gangster had given Serif Mallary quite a few advantages and privileges. "«_If you take up my real-estate any longer, Serif, I'll start charging you rent._»" Like the chance to pick up Huttese.

"«I _know better than to disturb you during your business, Boss._ »" Serif replied casually as he drew closer to examine the Hutt's latest work. "«_Alderaanian Lilies, I can't even begin to imagine what it took to get these._ »"

"«_Only the best for my garden,_ »" The Hutt replied proudly as he trimmed away the excess foliage. "«_So, how did the run to break in the new pilot go_? »"

"«_Poorly_. »" Serif spat out. "«_The idiot tried to outrun a Star Destroyer, the ship was totaled and we lost one of our men. _»"

"«_The pilot_? »"

"«_Taken care of_, »" was his cold reply.

Shuga shook head in disgust at this news. "«_They just don't make pilots like they used to. _»" He stated sadly. "«_I remember when spacers with real talent weren't so blasted hard to find. It makes me tempted to bust you back down to deliveries just so you can show these kids how to fly._ »"

"«_Tempting_, _but_ _I've become rather accustomed to my well earned position_. »" Serif chuckled.

After some time, Serif was sent on his way with his latest pile of assignments from the Hutt. As he entered the elevator, he took some time to drink in the sprawling, planet-spanning city that lay before him through the glass walls of the tube. Leaning against the railing, a wide, hungry grin began to form as he toyed with thoughts of grandiose conquest. As of right now, a large portion of this city and the cartel's power belonged to Shuga. That was going to change, very soon.

* * *

Simon tapped away at the controls of the ship as it made the next jump into hyperspace. Leaning back against the high back of his chair, he rubbed the dull pain in his temples away with a tired sigh. How long had he been out here, running from one system to the next? How long had it been since he left to make a quick profit off the Mandos and their war?

For a moment he let himself close his eyes and drift off into his thoughts. It felt like he'd been jumping from one world after another with little to no stops for rest beyond a few naps right here in the cockpit. The fatigue of it all was starting to wear on him. When he was done, he'd have to take a nice long rest, maybe a vacation. Maybe he'd head off to that Zeltron home world and get some sun, or go off to Corellia for a bit. In the end, he'd probably just find some quiet little rock, park the ship and take a long nap.

He was a long way off from that vacation though, a very long way off. There was still this current job for Serif, helping getting that loud mouth of a woman's job finished and sending her home. After that he still had to find-

"Oh Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimoooooooooo ooon." Rarity's singsong voice sent him tumbling from his thoughts and landed him back in the cold grip of reality.

With a tired grunt, Simon forced himself to sit up as his eyes hesitantly forced themselves open. "Whaaaaaaaaaaat?" He replied in a mocking impersonation of her calling him.

"Could you please come to the lounge for a moment?" She requested.

Grumbling in annoyance, he forced himself out of the chair with the sound of his back popping into place. Growling a few curses under his breath, he found the lounge area of the ship darkened. Whatever it was that she wanted from him now had best be important; at least that's what was going through his mind.

On the cue of his entry, Z7 quickly went about his assigned tasks. The lighting systems affixed to his bulbous dome of a head quickly kicked on creating a multicolored light show about the room. A preselected choice in music began to play, filling the air with a high octane thumping that exuded energy. The astromech couldn't help but hop back and forth in time to the music, beeping excitedly.

Simon stared dumbfounded at his droid's awkward actions until all the beams of light finally converged on one area as his passenger strode from one of the side rooms. Rarity beamed proudly as she strutted her way into the lounge clad in her newly crafted outfit. The fashionable mare now wore a dull grey vest overtop of a white button-up shirt that hung a bit loosely from her, while Rarity's lower half was now clad in a rather form-fitting pair of dark brown pants. All of which had been taken in and altered as best she could with so little to work with, even with that fact she couldn't help but take pride her work. In her mind she congratulated herself for yet another great creation.

With a smug smile, she proceeded to pace back and forth in front of the human as the droid's makeshift spotlight followed her movements. She wasted no time in striking every pose in her book as she modeled her creation for him.

"So, what do you think?" She asked excitedly. "Not bad, considering my lack of supplies and the second-hoof materials I had to work from. I'd dare say it was a rousing success." She stated with a toss of her mane for emphasis.

Simon stared at her with no shortage of confusion. He could feel that pain in his temples rushing back to him as his eye began to twitch and spasm. "That was, uh, neat, I guess."

"Neat?" She said with a sad pout. "Well, I suppose if I had access to my equipment back home and a few of my better materials I could have really given these outfit some _pop_."

A wide smile that gave Simon a bit of a shiver suddenly jumped upon her face. "OH! I could give your wardrobe a much needed upgrade, you know!"

Simon quickly stepped back with his hands up in defense. "Yeah, hey, uh, how about we shelve that one for another time, okay Princess?"

"Oh nonsense, darling," She happily cooed as she started sizing him up. "Why, it'll be no trouble at all, I'll even give you a discount for the work-"

A loud beeping from the cockpit brought a thankful sigh to Simon's lips as he quickly turned around. "Welp, about to drop out of hyperspace, better go take care of that so we don't crash into anything." Simon stated as he made for the cockpit. Under his breath, he thanked the timing on that alarm.

"My, you weren't kidding when you said we'd be there quickly," Rarity stated happily as she followed close behind him, "I'm curious about this first port of call. Why do they call it StarForge Station, after all?"

Simon glanced back at her with a smirk as he motioned her attention to the view port. "You're about to see."

Rarity's eyes went wide and her jaw bounced off the floor as the blue tunnel of hyperspace was suddenly replaced with a vibrant smattering of colors. Simon couldn't help but chuckle a bit at her slack jawed expression at what she was seeing. Swirling masses of gas and color roiled and shifted in front of her.

"They call it _StarForge Nebula_." Simon informed his still amazed passenger as he angled the ship to reveal a mass of mismatched metal built into a massive chunk of rock. "And that is _StarForge Station_."

As the _Meaningless Venture_ made its way through the swirling clouds and pieces of debris that littered the area, Rarity sat in awe at the sheer size of this floating monolith before her. Twilight and Sweetie Belle had both told her about the station they had visited and could not help but feel skeptical at the time. When she had heard their stories, the mare simply wrote it off as exaggerations; after all, how could anything be THAT big? But now, here in front of her was something that looked more akin to a flying continent.

Drawing closer, she was now treated with the sights of what looked to be fleets of ships coming and going from the station. The majority of the ships looked to be around the same size as their own. Cargo ships coming and going from whatever jobs had brought them out this way. A few, however looked to be closer to those she had seen orbiting her own home planet.

The key difference with these ships and the ones used by the Mandalorians was that these looked to have been built from scrap. Rarity was anything but knowledgeable when it came to Star ships, but what she did have was a very keen eye for details. She could see as they passed by that were clear distinctions between one section of the ship's hull to the next. She had to admit, despite the sorry shape of these ships, it took impressive ingenuity to make something like that out of other ships.

As the ship passed through the blue wall of energy into one of the docking bays, Rarity found herself hit with a strange shifting. Her legs gave out from her and sending her stumbling forwards. To her surprise however, rather than the cold metal of the floor, she found herself leaning into Simon's arm. A touch of red seeped through her coat as she stared up into his jade orbs before he helped her regain her balance.

"Shift in the gravity field." He told her as he helped her steady. "You get used to it after a while."

"Yes well, that is very good to know. Thank you for your assistance, Simon." Rarity said with a touch of embarrassment.

Grabbing his coat and gun, Simon made towards the cargo bay. "This won't take long. As soon as I drop this crate off we'll get your thing taken care of, then I'll get you home."

Rarity stayed close on his heels as he moved through the ship. "You can't honestly expect me stay on the ship after being cooped up in here for almost a whole day."

"Cooped up or not, I just want to get this whole mess over with. So you're staying on the ship." Simon told her sternly.

"But this stop could make for valuable research." She pleaded while easily keeping pace. "All these species with so many kinds of clashing cultures and fashions, I can't pass up this opportunity. This might not be the Canterlot Elite, but there is still much I could see and learn from one walk around this place."

"Don't care, not my problem." Simon retorted with no shortage of annoyance. "If you're a good girl, then maybe we'll make a pit stop on the way home." He added with no shortage of sarcasm. "Until then, I'd better not see you take one step off this vessel, are we clear?"

Rarity kept her eyes locked with his while mentally trying to overpower him. It quickly became clear there would be no budging him on this subject. "Alright then, Captain Ortell, you will not see me leave this ship."

That seemed too easy. Simon had been ready for a shouting match over keeping her on the ship. "That's more like it." He said cautiously while unlatching the cargo crate from its restraints. "We get our work done and then maybe, MAYBE, we'll make a pit stop someplace."

"Sounds lovely," Rarity cooed with a healthy dose of honey. "Well, best not to keep you." She said with a smile while trotting away from him. "Do hurry back, darling; we don't want to fall too far behind schedule after all."

Simon gave himself a satisfied smile as she disappeared back inside the ship. "That's a lot more like it." He congratulated himself. Had he looked over his shoulder, however, he might have caught sight of a flash of blue light from within the lounge.

With the cargo crate hoisted over his shoulder, Simon made his way down the ramp from the ship's hold and into the mostly empty hangar bay. A number of large shipping pods were stacked around the area while droids tended to their programmed business. From behind several of these pods, a group of armed aliens of various species appeared and took up positions. Simon's attention immediately fell upon the short figure at the center of this gathering of mercenaries. Clad from head to toe in the environmentally sealed armor of the Ubese people.

"Ortell," he said in a low raspy voice over his breathing mask's voice box, "about time you got here."

Simon glanced over the mercs before settling back on the one he assumed to be his contact. "Vrax, right? I didn't know you were expecting me."

"More than you know." Vrax said to him with a touch of a growl.

Before anything else could be said between the pair a hail of blaster bolts filled the air between Simon and his buyers. Death was surely about to claim him when something slammed into his side, forcing him to tumble behind a wall of large shipping pods. Dumfounded and confused by everything that just happened, Simon quickly drew his blaster and looked around franticly as the sounds of energy bolts hitting his hiding place rang in his ears. Standing over top of him was what looked like a wall of shimmering water, ethereal and ghostlike, but from the weight on his chest he could tell it had form.

"Simon, are you alright?" The ghostly vision spoke in a voice he was becoming all too familiar with.

Simon's eyes narrowed in on the shimmering form before everything clicked into place. "Rarity?"


	5. Welcome to Starforge

Simon's eyes narrowed on the shimmering form before everything clicked into place. "Rarity?"

Simon had seen and heard of some very strange things out here in the Outer Rim. He'd seen a drunk Jedi turn an entire cantina into one big dance troupe. He'd heard stories of a dirtball of a planet populated by back-woods hicks that apparently had some kind of super amazing treasure hidden somewhere on it. But this was something he was certain that no one, no matter how drunk or loaded up on Glitter Stim, would ever believe what he saw.

The liquid-like shimmer began to fall away, revealing the Unicorn in question standing over him. Her horn, which had been encased in a soft, shimmering blue, started to return to its normal white sheen. She forced a wide, toothy smile while his eyes went wide and jaw slacked.

"What in the… what are you doing here!?" Simon yelled at her.

One lucky blaster bolt managed to penetrate through the cargo container they had been hiding behind. Rarity could feel the blistering heat of the deadly projectile as it passed just inches from her back; with a surprised yelp, she buried herself tightly against Simon's chest, trying to make herself a smaller target.

"Can we please save explanations for when we're no longer being shot at!?" She yelled back over the sounds of their attackers firing away at them.

Simon pulled himself away from the frightened Equestrian to blindly fire a volley of his own blaster bolts back at Vrax and his men. Each shot sadly trailed off, missing all possible targets. However, it did have the satisfying effect of causing them to halt their advance on their position.

With this new opening in the fight, Simon quickly began sizing up their options as he looked the situation over. They could run for the ship? The path back is too open and it would be child's play for them to mow the two down. Z7 could return fire from the ship? The only gun on the _Venture_ was on the roof though, and couldn't be angled down to hit them. Maybe fire on the roof above them? There was too high a risk of exposing this hangar bay to the vacuum if they did that. Maybe just keep blind firing and hope that one or two of them actually walks into one of his bolts? Now he was just being silly.

Hope however, returned to him as he spotted something they could use to their advantage. A grate overtop of a maintenance shaft, if they could get into that they could lose them in the maze of conduits and tunnels that ran through the station. The problem here, though, was the same as with getting back on the ship; one saving grace, though. It was closer and had a little more cover.

Rarity's gaze followed his to the access grate and quickly understood his plan, as well as formulating one of her own. Her forehoof took him tightly by the arm to garner his attention for a moment. "Simon, I have an idea."

* * *

Behind the breathing helmet, Vrax smirked with a strong sense of satisfaction. Everything was going to work out according to the plan: he'd soon have the crate, and those two would be dead. As an added bonus, he'd have a pretty new ship that could fetch him a welcomed pile of credits.

Speaking of credits, this firefight was wasting time and draining his wallet. "Enough of this game; lay down suppressive fire and move in. I want those two executed, NOW."

As Vrax's mercenaries followed their boss' orders, Simon and his Equestrian companion darted out from behind the cargo container. The pair made a mad dash for the hangar exit through the hail of blaster fire. The Ubese began barking orders to mow them down, while quickly taking aim with his pistol and joining in on the slaughter.

The pair ran through the hail of blaster fire as bolts of energy sizzled past them. No longer willing to draw this conflict out however, Vrax took careful aim from behind his blaster. With cold confidence, he drew a bead on the quadruped running closely beside the human He gleefully hoped her corpse would fall at an angle to trip him up in mid stride as his finger eagerly squeezed the trigger and let fly a deadly projectile. With smug satisfaction, he watched as the energy bolt streaked through the air until it found its mark in the back of the four legger's head.

His sense of victory, however, quickly turned to shock as the bolt passed through her skull and struck the wall ahead of her. Under normal circumstances this might mean that he had just caused quite a mess for some poor soul to clean up; this, however, was anything but normal. Vrax stared in disbelief at the back of her head which showed no signs of any kind of damage as she continued to run forwards.

Had he missed? No, there was no way he could have missed a shot like that. He knew he'd hit her, he just knew it. But if that was the case, then why was she still running at full speed? Why didn't she have a burnt crater in the back of her skull?

While Vrax's men didn't seem to notice this odd occurrence, the Ubese quickly cycled his helmet's HUD through various vision settings. There was no sign of them via the thermal setting; however, they showed up as various spectrums of light. He immediately assumed holograms, but that meant…

Vrax turned his attention over his shoulder and found Simon, the crate still hoisted onto his shoulder, and that four legged _Thing_ making for the other side of the room. What's more, there was a strange glow coming from the horn atop her head as a look of concentration scrunched up her face. Snarling several curses in his native tongue, he let fly a volley of bolts in their direction.

They were almost there. They were going to make it. These were the words Simon kept repeating to himself from within his head. As the pair closed in on the grate, a painful burning sensation tore through his shoulder and arm, causing him to lose his grip on the package. At the same time, several more energy bolts struck the floor around Rarity, bringing out a startled screech from the Unicorn as she tumbled to the ground.

The smuggler risked a glance over his shoulder to find Vrax and his men no longer chasing shadows and now fully focused on them. He then glanced to the crate; whatever was in there was worth enough to Vrax that he'd try to kill the guy bringing it to him. It was the source of all this trouble, but it had to be worth more than a few credits for all of this. Then his gaze settled on Rarity, who was struggling to get back to her hooves and continue on at a full gallop. Vrax and his men were closing in on them; he could grab both of them without getting shot.

Cursing under his breath, Simon scooped up the Unicorn with one arm while drawing his blaster with the free hand. Adrenalin and the desire to live drove the biting pain out of his mind and shoulder before he let fly a few blaster bolts. The projectiles struck true and decimated the grate, leaving a hole just big enough for the pair to dive through. His ears rang with the familiar sounds of blaster fire and the surprised shouts of the Unicorn in his arms. Just before leaping headlong into the maintenance shaft, he was suddenly aware of a squeezing pressure around his midsection.

Vrax snarled in frustration as they disappeared through the broken shaft. "Get down there and find those two, I want their corpses!"

While his hired guns took to hunting down the escaping pair, the Ubese's attention fell upon the crate. Once his minions and mooks had cleared out, Vrax knelt down beside the box and entered the password into the electronic lock. The crate's seal was broken with a loud hiss before he slowly opened it. Beneath his breath mask his jaw went fully slack as he took in what he was looking at. It was everything that Serif claimed it was and more. Quickly slamming the case shut and re-engaging the lock, Vrax made for the exit with his prize in tow. Now all he needed was to have that pair of loose ends tied up and the plan could truly get underway.

* * *

Simon and Rarity found themselves tumbling blindly through the darkness after making their daring escape. Before long, the pair found the solid metallic ground of the station's dimly lit maintenance tunnels with the help of gravity. Through odd twists of fate and a touch of good luck, a pile of refuse at the bottom of the chute cushioned their impact. A cloud of dust and dirt was kicked up as they met the end of their destination rather abruptly.

The landing sent yet another tremor of pain through Simon's body as he absorbed the brunt of the impact. This only served to worsen the pain in his arm from the grazing shot he'd taken while on the run. His mind began to clear alongside his vision until he became aware of Rarity's frantic voice ringing in his ears. "Wha… what's the matter?"

"I… I…" Her words came out in shaky frightened mess as she struggled to keep her control. "I was hit!"

Simon's eyes quickly focused after hearing this, prompting him to move to her side to carefully examine her. "Ah jeez, where, where'd they get you Rarity?" Now it was his turn to sound frantic and scared. "It'll be okay Rarity, just show me where they shot you."

"Right here!" She blurted out in woe as one of her forehooves held up a portion of her curled mane. The violet strands had been marred and singed black as wisps of smoke drifted from the damaged follicles.

"What?" His tone had shifted to being low and even as he stared at her in deadpan disbelief.

Rarity's lip quivered as she stared sadly at the damaged hair. "Out of all the worst things that could happen," she sniffled as her eyes teared up at their edge, "this is THE! WORST! POSSIBLE! THING!" She blurted out with dramatic pause before fainting backwards into Simon's chest.

Simon was having a hard time processing this. How was this the same girl from before? Back on Gaia, she faced down a room full of blasters pointed at her and didn't even flinch. On his ship, she put him on his rear then held him at blaster point while demanding he take her home. And now here she was sobbing uncontrollably into his chest while lamenting over the state of her hairdo.

"Rarity," It took every inch of his self control to keep himself yelling his head off at her. "How exactly is this an issue?"

"My perfect beauty has been marred!" She sobbed pitifully. "I'm a hideous gargoyle now, don't look at me!" She cried out before hiding herself behind her forelimbs and burying into his chest again.

Simon's patience had reached its limit. Cupping his hands on either side of Rarity's face, he forced her to look him in the eye. "Listen to me, Princess, we do NOT have time for this!" He snarled at her. "Vrax and his goons are going to be coming down into these tunnels to find us and kill us, we have to-"

Simon stopped mid rant as something important dawned on him. His hands quickly fumbled about his jacket till finally producing a hand held comlink. "Zee, pick up!" From the built-in speaker of the small device came a cacophony of beeps and whistles. "Get the ship out of there and circle around the station." He was answered with several more whistles from the other side of the line. "Don't worry about that, I'll contact you when it's time for a pick up. We can't afford to lose the ship to them."

"Alright, that gives us at least some kind of an escape route." Simon sighed in relief while slipping the com back into his pocket. It was then that he noticed the indignant glare that she was now giving him. "What is it now?"

"Oh nothing," Rarity said with a hint of venom, "just thinking about how you could do with a _little_ more sensitivity."

Moving away from her human companion, Rarity took stock of their new location. Tubes and wires ran along the walls and ceilings as low grade light fixtures create long shadows and gave the place a tomb-like atmosphere. Looking herself over, she could feel her skin crawl after seeing all the dirt and grime that was clinging to her clothes and fur.

Simon rolled his eyes at her comment about his current attitude as he dusted himself off. "Look, Princess, we don't have time for you to go through a nervous breakdown over a few split hairs."

"Does this look like a _few_ split hairs to you?!" Rarity exclaimed as she levitated the damaged section of her mane in frustration.

Though her teeth were bared and face set in a livid expression, Rarity couldn't help but feel herself shaking and sobbing on the inside. It wasn't just that her mane was ruined, it was the fact that here she was hundreds of light years from home, in a dark, dirty tunnel with a man who threatened at one point to launch her out an airlock. Making matters worse, once more there are blaster-toting aliens who want to turn her into a charred corpse on the grounds that she was in the room at the time. She had kept a brave face thus far but she could feel a few small cracks in her mask starting to form along the edges.

She could see from Simon's gaze that he was a bit taken aback from her outburst. Taking a deep, calming breath she took control of her emotions. "I apologize, Captain Ortell; the stress must be getting to me. Once we get back to the ship and are safely away from here I will have to see about restyling my mane. Now then, shall we be off?"

Simon regained his composure after her small explosion. "Right, well, anyways, you're going to have to hold off on the preening and prettying for a little while."

Rarity raised her brow in curiosity, a worried chill crawling down her spine. "Simon, what are you planning?"

"Vrax still has that box and whatever's inside it." Simon pointed out as he started following the tunnel. "Not only that, but he didn't pay me for it. He just broke Freelancer's Law number one: deliver the cargo and get paid. Since I doubt he'll be willing to discuss the contract he just violated, we're just going to have to steal it back."

Rarity easily kept pace beside him. "You cannot be serious, darling." Her voice started to crack a bit with worry. "Maybe you failed to notice the large contingent of guns that were pointed at us mere moments ago, but I have my doubts we can hold our own against all of them. Besides that, from what I saw during the fight, you aren't a very good shot with that thing." She added with a gesture of her horn towards his pistol.

Simon gave her a sidelong glare as they continued through the tunnels at a brisk pace. "Shut up, I'm a decent shot when I need to be. Besides, last I checked, you WANTED to go around the station."

"That was before we had armed brutes hunting us down." Rarity was quick to counter. "Simon, just forget about this foalish vendetta of yours and let's leave this place, please."

He quickly looked away from her as those deep blue eyes locked with his. They were pleading and begging him to just walk away; that, combined with that pouting lip, made for a dangerous combination. A scowl firmly took root as he fought hard to will the growing red from his cheeks. Forget the Force, if the rest of her planet was like this, they could conquer the galaxy without firing a single shot.

"Rarity, we're going to have to go through Vrax and his men at some point." Simon calmly pointed out. "If we can get the box back while we're at it, then that's a bonus. Besides, I wouldn't worry too much, Princess. I'll keep you safe."

With a weak smile she nodded in agreement. "Alright then, I suppose I don't have much choice in the matter considering the limited options." She admitted reluctantly. "At the least, I would like to vacate these dreadful tunnels."

* * *

Time in the tunnels had passed at a crawl as Rarity and Simon navigated the dark, dingy underbelly of StarForge. The dim lighting on the maintenance tunnels combined with the ambient hum of generators and the echoes of a thousand voices from over head only helped to fuel the growing paranoia of the pair. Every sound in the darkness and movement from the corner of their collective vision caused them both to tense and slow their pace. They had narrowly escaped a few close calls as a few of Vrax's mercenaries were still searching the shafts looking for them.

As a small sense of security started to settle on them both, Simon sought to kill some time and hopefully get a few answers. "So, mind telling me how you did all that stuff back at the ship?"

"Oh, you mean the invisibility and the mirror clones?" She asked him calmly. "Very simple applications of illusion magic, tricks of light and shadow, nothing overly impressive by anypony's standards." Glancing towards her companion, Rarity couldn't help but notice the odd stare he was giving her now. "What?"

"I'd heard that a lot of your kind can use the Force and junk like that. But I've never heard of it being used like THAT." He stated with no shortage of surprise in his voice.

"Like I said, it really wasn't anything impressive." She assured him. "Those parlor tricks are nothing compared to what my friend Twilight Sparkle can perform."

A wry smile slipped past Simon's defenses. "Just one surprise after another with you isn't it?"

Before long, a growing glimmer in the darkness ahead of them finally gave way to a cascade of light from the level above them. At the bottom of a stairwell, a pool of artificial light cascaded down from the level above. Rarity's heart leapt for joy at the sight of what could very well be their salvation. Instinctively she quickened her pace to reach the steps as quickly as she could. Her advance, however, was halted when a firm tug on the collar of her vest brought her to a stop.

"Whoa, what the heck do you think you're doing?" Simon snarled at her.

"Leaving this dreadful dungeon, of course," She answered back before freeing herself of his grip. "That was our plan, right?"

Simon pushed his way past her and cautiously inched towards the top of the stairs. "Vrax is bound to have some of his guys looking around the station for us in case we got past the guys in the tunnels." He informed her.

Hugging tightly to the wall, he peeked out around the corner. They had reached the station's market district at the heart of the facility. The stairwell he and Rarity were currently concealed within sat behind a pair of merchant stands, giving him ample cover to observe the area. Sure enough, he could see a pair of armed thugs trying their hardest to casually watch the crowds. A little further investigation turned up at least four others all spread out and armed to the teeth. Simon cast a glance at the less than intimidating pistol strapped to his hip. Perhaps Rarity had a point earlier when she pointed out the enemy's superior firepower.

It was then that he spotted someone in the crowd. Vrax himself, marching across the promenade with his prize tucked under his arm. A confident smirk came to the smuggler's face as he watched the Ubese enter a lift at the end of the hall.

Rarity made her way up beside Simon, catching sight of the vaguely humanoid figure before the metallic sliding doors closed behind him. "It would seem we managed to find that brute from the hangar." She commented quietly. "I do hope you have a plan to get us from here all the way to the other side of that wide open area."

"Why don't we just try that illusion thingy you did before?"

"Invisibility takes a calm mind and concentration in order to bend light around one's self and maintain the illusion." Rarity replied reluctantly. "It takes even greater concentration when cloaking yourself and others. I don't have the strength of will to prolong a spell like that for the two of us; I'm a fashion designer not a mage."

Simon glanced about their alcove and the surrounding area for anything that they might be able to make use of. They didn't have a lot of time before Vrax and the crate were too far out of reach. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something sitting on top of a supply crate behind one of the merchant stalls: a length of rope. This gave him an idea.

Grabbing it up, he quickly took a knee to get eye to eye with her. "Rarity, I need you take your clothes off and let me tie this around your neck."

The fashionable Unicorn's eyes went wide and her pupils shrank to mere dots at this proclamation. Surprised was one way to describe her mood, the other was…

Her hoof swiftly flew up and struck him across the face as harshly as her forelimb could provide.

…Irate.

"What in the hay is wrong with you?" She hissed at him while glaring daggers into his eyes. "Here we are skulking in the dark and running for our lives while you want to entertain some kind of FETISH!? I shudder to think the types of mares you are used to Captain Ortell, but I am a lady, not one of your back alley harlots."

The side of his face throbbed and ached, that arm of hers was something else. His senses returned and his anger fueled all the more, Simon brought himself forehead to forehead and glare to glare with her. "First, keep your voice down unless you WANT to become a blaster-bolt riddled corpse." His voice fought hard not to break into a yell. "Second, they're looking for a human and a four legged alien, if we make you look like a pet, we might not set off any red flags out there. Oh, and for the record, don't flatter yourself, _Princess_, you're not my type."

"I can only imagine what your _type_ is." She stated venomously. "Some cheap bar room floozy with no standards or self control and probably a few daddy issues."

"Oh yeah, well she sounds a whole hell of a lot more approachable than some trumped up, high class snob who thinks she stands leagues above the rest of us." Simon retorted. "Believe me Princess, I've dealt with your kind before."

Rarity raised a brow at his curt response. "My kind?"

"Yeah, your kind," His mouth was running on autopilot now, guided by anger. "Posh pretty girls who've spent their entire lives living comfortably off of Mommy and Daddy's trust fund. I'm betting this is the closest you've ever come to the real world in your whole damn life."

To his surprise, Rarity said nothing in return. No argument, no shouting, all she did was stare at him. An intense anger in her eyes, no words at all, but something about that stare felt like he was being torn apart from inside out.

The moment his mouth opened to say anything she quickly cut him off. "Are you quite finished?"

Nodding a yes to her the rope in his hand was telepathically yanked from his hand. "Then give me some blasted privacy." She snarled at him.

* * *

"There is no way this is going to work." Rarity grumbled under her breath.

With a great deal of reluctance, she had done as Simon instructed. The outfit she had been clad in had been removed and rolled up into a bundle that her companion now carried under his arm. A loosely tied rope hung around her neck in a makeshift leash and collar that he held from the other end.

"Just stay quiet and we shouldn't draw too much attention to ourselves." Simon whispered to her.

Rarity's face was beat red as he forced herself to march forwards across the promenade. Her eyes nervously darted from one strange being to the next while she braced herself for when this "brilliant" plan fell into disarray. So far, at least, it seemed to be working as barely any of the market goers or merchants paid her any mind. Perhaps they might actually make it through this.

"I do hope you have more to this plan Simon." Rarity said under her breath.

"Real simple," he replied confidently, "we get to that console on the other side of market. I slice the system and look for a hanger with the tightest security. That's our best bet to find Vrax."

"And what makes you say that?"

"That much muscle and this much trouble to get what's in that case? Oh yeah, he's gotta have a ship just waiting to take off with a wall of goons to make sure it does."

"Yes, we both know how amazing you are at reading others."

Rarity had made no attempts to conceal the venom behind her words this time, causing Simon to flinch inwardly. She was mad, that much was obvious, but there wasn't much he could do about that now. He gave a silent prayer that whatever drama was roiling beneath her surface would hold off until they were at least off the station.

"An interesting animal you have there, human." An eager voice behind them chimed in.

Just when things were going so smoothly too, glancing over his shoulder he found the large, blackish-blue eyes and green, scaly skin of a Rodian. "Yeah, thanks." Simon replied with a grunt.

"It is very unique and rare looking." The alien continued his pestering. "I represent a very rich individual who happens to collect rare and unique creatures like this one. I am very certain he would pay handsomely for this one."

As tempting as it was to sell her off and be done with this seemingly endless headache, he did happen to make a promise to her. "No thanks friend. You wouldn't want her anyways, see she's got a bad attitude, not to mention she's pretty high maintenance."

Rarity bit down on her lip with a glare fixed dead ahead to withhold her already growing anger. _High maintenance he says,_ she thought to herself. _When this is all over with I am giving him a piece of my mind._ With a few choice words in a language she couldn't understand, Simon managed to chase off the pestering green skin, much to her relief. This is quickly replaced when Simon ties her to one of the hand railings near the information kiosk.

Catching sight of the indignant look he was now getting, Simon quietly mutters to her. "It's just to keep up appearances, alright?" He quickly defended his actions. "Keep an eye out for any trouble while I take care of this."

Armed with his wits and a datapad, Simon plugged the device into the wall-mounted computer and began his assault on the station's network. He had to admit, a security system designed by pirates and outlaws was a lot more impressive than any governmental or military design. Still, he managed to find the holes in the defenses. Simon swiftly sifted through the piles of data and information till he found exactly what he was looking for and a slightly added bonus.

With the camera controls under his command, he was able to find Vrax himself in route to his ship. A cocky smirk came across Simon's face as a rather devious idea came to mind on how to slow his progress down by quite a bit. With a few taps on his keypad, the spacer watched with no shortage of glee as the massive blast doors in front of and behind the Ubese on the screen suddenly closed. He was trapped, step one was complete. A few more taps and the protocols for the door were changed around to make sure his head start would hopefully mean close to nothing now.

* * *

Vrax stared a hole in the massive blast doors now sealed shut in his way before his gaze shifted to a wall mounted camera. "Still alive, I see."

Behind his visor, the Ubese couldn't help but smirk from ear to ear. "Good, I was hoping the mercs would miss you, Ortell. It would be a shame if I didn't get to kill you myself, after all."

Vrax lifted the case up in the air so the camera could get a good look at it. "Would you like to know a little secret about what's in here?"

* * *

Simon stared at the screen as he watched the Ubese holding up the case and tapping the front of it. "Too bad there's no sound on these old style cameras, would really like to know if he's mocking me or not."

His contemplation gained very little ground when familiar protest sounded out beside him. "Unhand me you cur!"

Simon turned around in time to see Rarity slamming her rear hooves into the gut of the Rodian from before. The alien's body went limp as he was sent several feet across the polished floor. Just as he was afraid of, a lot of eyes were now on them as Rarity continued to verbally assault the Rodian who was nursing his now sore midsection. Even worse, several of the mercenaries they were trying to avoid were now motioning and heading in their direction.

Running completely on impulse, Simon drew his pistol and began firing rounds off into the air over the crowded market place. All of this depended on the nature of his fellow outlaws and privateers being just as trigger happy as the next. To his delight, the gamble paid off. Chaos quickly broke out within the promenade as beings began rushing in all directions for cover. Some drew their own blasters and began shouting back and forth. Grinning happily with himself, he swiftly untied Rarity and released her from the leash. Before they scurried off, he turned his attention to the Rodian giving them both a confused stare.

Kneeling down to the alien, Simon looked him right in the eye and said. "I told you she's got a bad attitude."

Freed from her bonds, Rarity made a mad dash for the control panel of the elevator slamming her hoof into the button. At this moment in time, she didn't care which direction it was headed just as long as it arrived and quickly. "Simon, we have to go!" She called out to him the moment one of the doors slid open.

Hearing her call out, Simon left the dumfounded alien on the ground. Given the riot he had started, he wasted no time in joining up with Rarity before the metal doors slid shut behind him.


	6. Facing Vrax

With an angry grunt, Vrax yanked his hand away from the sparks bursting from the control panel of the blast door. His patience was wearing very thin, considering he was stopped by his prey's little prank. However, it had given him ample motivation to dream up new and exciting ways to kill the pest as soon as he got his hands on him. The only problem now was just how to settle on ONE thing. Vrax could strangle him, a nice slow death with the added bonus of making his four legged friend watch him die. Or maybe he'd put them both in an air lock and launch them into the void; maybe he could make a few credits setting up bets on which one would pop from the decompression first.

A chirping from his helmet's comlink dragged him out of his fun-filled fantasy land. "What is it?" He snapped at the caller.

"We spotted them in the market square, sir." The voice of a henchman nervously answered him back. "But, uh, we ran into a small problem."

"What sort of problem would that be, Ulmar?" Vrax asked him in a dangerous tone.

"A riot broke out across the market before we could move on them." Was the quickly blurted out reply.

"Well, that's very clever of you, Ortell." Vrax commented as he tore a handful of wires from the wall-mounted controls. "Get the rest of the men out of the tunnels; I want every gun converging on the hangar. We'll wait for him to come to us."

After shutting off the com, Vrax gave the mass of metal blocking his way a long, hatful glare. No longer in the mood to play the Smuggler's game, he produced a cylindrical object from his belt. Behind his mask, he eyed the trinket fondly as he remembered the day he took the trophy and its owner's life. With a flip of a switch, a long grey blade of energy ignited from the hilt with an ambient hum. The Ubese plunged the weapon into the blast door, melting its way through the thick metal. He smirked at himself as he began cutting a hole to the other side; best trophy ever.

He had to hand it to Simon Ortell and his mystery friend. The pair was certainly full of surprises. Still, Vrax had every intention to end both their lives and was looking forward to it very much. Still, to have eluded him thus far, these two had to be something else.

* * *

Ambient, dull music flooded the cramped elevator from the speakers built into the walls, helping to drown out the sound of the motor lifting the metal box up and down the shaft. It also helped to fill the silence between Rarity and Simon as they stared straight ahead at the dirty metal doors. A childish grin sat on the humans face as he replayed the incident they just left behind themselves.

"C'mon," He said as he nudged her side. "You have to admit, that was pretty awesome."

"Simon, I'm going to need my clothes back." Was the only answer she gave him as she kept her gaze riveted forward.

Rolling his eyes, Simon produced the bundled-up clothes from beneath his jacket, which were then quickly engulfed in a blue aura and wrenched away from him. "Can't see why you're so cranky, Princess. We just gave Vrax's boys the slip for the second time today. It's not because I saved your tail for the second time today, is it?" He teased her.

"Then I suppose it'll be time for me to save yours again fairly soon." She replied with a snort.

Simon shot her a deathly glare. "Excuse me, _Princess_, but from where I'm standing, your entire record is based around being in the wrong place at the right time."

"And I'm sure you would've found a way out of that situation back in the hangar all on your own, darling." Rarity bit back at him.

"Don't you even start with me on that," Simon snapped at her. "I had the entire situation under control!"

"Oh please," Rarity exclaimed in annoyance, "If I hadn't sneaked off the ship like I did, you'd be dead right now."

"I had everything under control!" Simon shouted at her. "Besides that, you need me here more than I need you!"

"So being nearly gunned down by a whole band of brigands is under control, then?" Rarity asked him snidely.

"Yeah, well last time I checked, I know my way around this galaxy a whole hell of a lot better than you do." Simon snarled at her. "So unless you want me to just leave you stranded on some back water hovel of a planet, you'd better start showing me a bit of respect."

As the elevator doors opened, the redressed Unicorn briskly trotted out and away from her Human companion. "Make all the threats you want Simon, but I know you won't ever make good on any of them."

Not willing to let her walk off with the last word, he quickly pushed past the other Human and Twi'lek that had been waiting for the elevator in order to keep pace with her. "Oh yeah? And why is that exactly?"

"Because then you wouldn't get paid." She hissed back at him.

The confused pair of bystanders watched as the Unicorn and Human stormed off shouting back and forth at one another. Silence ruled them both until the human jabbed his elbow into his alien friend's side. "Ya see that? That's the reason I don't ever wanna get married."

* * *

The squabbling actually seemed to help time pass much faster for the pair as they navigated their way towards Vrax's hanger. As they drew closer, Simon couldn't help but smirk at the sight of one his sealed blast doors. It looked like Vrax's team wasn't very handy when it came to slicing.

"A dead end; a good thing you know your way around the galaxy, after all." Rarity quipped.

"Relax, Princess, it's one of the blast doors I sealed to slow down Vrax and his men." Simon informed her as he tapped away at the control panel. "Fortunately for us, I happen to have the access codes to walk right through them." With a loud clank and hiss, the thick metal wall began to separate and slowly open as all the safeties shut off. "You see that? Not a problem."

As the doors slid apart, they could see they were at a three-way intersection, the path branching off clearly leading towards the hangar. They could also see the still-glowing hole that had been cut in the blast doors across from them, as well as the Ubese holding a lightsaber in one hand and the mystery box in the other. Time stood still as Simon, Rarity and Vrax stared one another down. The Ubese was the first to make a move as he flung the active energy blade at the pair. Simon and Rarity quickly dove in opposite directions from each other.

Rarity could feel the blistering heat of the weapon as it passed uncomfortably close to her face. Her mind quickly leapt back to Twilight's account of being stabbed with one, and the mind numbing pain that it could cause. She watched in horror as it sliced through a part of her mane, ruining it all the more.

With the pair distracted and his hand free, Vrax drew his blaster pistol and began rapidly firing bolt after bolt to pin the pair down as he jogged around the corner to his waiting forces. "Get out there and take them alive if possible; I don't want them dying until I've had my fun with them." He barked to the nearest mercenary.

Simon drew his pistol as he rand to Rarity's side. "You alright, Princess?"

"Y-yes, a bit singed but I'm alive." She stated with a saddened glance at the further abuse her mane had suffered.

Neither of them was given much of a breather before a hail of blaster bolts struck the floor around them. Simon darted back towards the control panel for the door as he let loose a volley of return fire that seemed to go in completely random directions. Thankfully, they had the desired effect of forcing them to slow their advance. Punching a few keys, the door's emergency shut sequence was kicked on and the thick metal door slid back into place.

"Doesn't look like we're going that way anymore," Simon commented with an annoyed sigh. "We'll have to double back, maybe find another route. Hopefully we've ticked Vrax off enough to stick around until we're dead."

As they turned the corner they found another group of mercenaries. Before they could brace their weapons, Simon let loose several bolts of energy in their direction to force them back around the corner. The pair moved back to the safety of the other side of the corner before a fresh smattering of blaster bolts began striking the walls and floors. To make matters worse, sparks began to shoot out from the door Simon had just sealed.

"They're cutting through." He snarled before firing a few more blind shots. "Rarity, if you have any kind of Force magic powers that can get us out of this, now is the time to use them!"

She looked back and forth between the sparking doorway and the constant streams of super-heated death running down the hallway. Her mind raced as she examined every inch of their tiny corner and picked apart every object they had at their disposal. Then one thing came to mind; it was a long shot, a very long and dangerous shot.

"Well, there is something we could try, but…" she said hesitantly, "there are a lot of factors that can go wrong with the spell."

"Oh really, do tell." Simon said impatiently as fired a few more rounds around the corner.

"It's a very high level spell, Simon and I've only known one pony who can pull it off with ease." She snipped back at him. "I've only just recently learned it, and only successfully cast it three times to go six feet. There is a good chance that if things go wrong, we could die."

"Rarity, if we stay here, we WILL die." Simon griped at her as a blaster bolt struck the corner of the wall near his face.

"You have a point; I'll need some details, then, to make this work." She stated as she began running Twilight's magic lessons through her head. "I need to know in which direction we're going to be moving, how thick these walls and doors are, as well as the chances of objects in our path of return."

"Uh, the walls are real thick. This place is made to withstand barrages from entire fleets." Simon exclaimed. "Probably a couple inches or so, the same with the doors."

"I would prefer precise details!" Rarity stated in a panic.

"So would I; what are you about to do, and what did you mean by path of return?"

Glancing over her shoulder, Rarity could see the door was already starting to budge; the mercenaries on the other side would be through soon. To make matters worse, she could hear the advancing footsteps of the others beyond the bend in the hall. Desperation and a desire to live forced her to focus on the spell, regardless.

"It looks like I don't have time for details, either." Rarity cut him short as she tightly locked her hooves around his midsection.

Her face scrunched up in concentration while her eyes nailed themselves shut. A few beads of sweat began to roll down her face, and her horn started to glow a soft blue that only intensified and deepened the more she focused. Rarity cut the rest of the world out of her mind before going back to that open field where she and Twilight had been practicing. All of her friend's words of wisdom and cautions came flooding back to her mind as she willed the spell into being all around her and Simon.

* * *

As Vrax entered the hangar, he took the added precaution to lock the door behind him. No sense in tempting fate, after all. Especially when he was this close to being both off of this dump of a station and done with that pair of annoyances. Then he would have ample time to relax and focus on the big picture. His advance halted, though, as a bright flash over his shoulder drew his attention. Grumbling a few choice words into his helmet, he set the case down on a nearby packing crate and resigned himself to the new task at hand.

In a bright flash of light and a loud pop, both Rarity and Simon manifested into existence. The pair tumbled violently through the air, still latched tightly to one another as they knocked over crates and shipping barrels alike in their path. Head over heel, they rolled until coming to an abrupt stop with Simon's head smacking against a very heavy metal crate.

Groggy, sore and disoriented, the smuggler forced his eyes to stay open as he tried to force himself to sit up; his vision became blocked by strands of purple curls. The world started to slowly clear up for him, bringing weight on his chest into focus. Rarity was laying over-top of him unconscious, her face buried into the side of his neck and hair lying across his face. Her limbs clung tightly to him, bringing a light tint of red to the spacer's cheeks.

With an annoyed grunt, Simon unceremoniously shoved her off of him while getting back up on shaky legs. His vision was clearing but was still blurry and out of focus; he gave his surroundings a quick once-over before checking himself. Everything seemed like it was still where it should be and from the look of it, the hangar was totally empty.

On the far wall he spotted the control panel for the hangar bay's entrance. Thinking quickly, he tried to steady his shaky aim, the blaster swaying back and forth. When he finally drew a bead on it, he let fly several bolts of energy that reduced the controls to scorched slag.

"One problem out of the way…" Simon muttered with a tired grunt before grabbing his com link. "Zee, hey Zee pick up." A few beeps and whistles came from the other side. "Lock on to this signal and swing around for a pick up."

Nearly home free, now. That kept him moving on his shaky legs as he scanned the room from behind the sights of his pistol. He had to find Vrax, take the case back then get himself and Rarity on the ship and get out of here. With a pained grunt he trudged forwards, his pistol quickly shifting in the direction of every little sound and shadow. Simon's heart raced with every step; he could feel those predatory eyes watching him.

"Captain Ortell," The gravelly rasp of the Ubese came from his left. Quickly turning to face him, Simon's arm was grasped tightly in a vice grip before the sharp pain of Vrax's elbow slammed into his gut. Letting out a gasp of pain, Simon double over and was caught by an uppercut before his captured arm was twisted violently, sending his world into a rapid inversion, followed by the familiar feeling of the cold metal ground catching him.

Vrax took quite a bit of pleasure in watching the blindsided Human try to regain his wits and scurry away from him. "And here I was worried that my trigger-happy mercenaries were going to kill you." He stated gleefully. "But here you are, delivered to me of your own free will; how very thoughtful of you both."

To accentuate this, Vrax's boot caught him under the ribs forcing him to roll away from the attack on reflex. Simon did all he could to get some distance from the Ubese gangster. His currently throbbing gut and still-pounding head made movement just a bit of a chore for him. Fumbling with a nearby storage drum, he managed to get back to his feet, despite his legs' insistence that he stay down.

Vrax grinned from ear to ear as he watched his prey desperately scurry away from him. Glancing at his feet, he saw that the Human had carelessly dropped his pistol. Placing his boot on the weapon, he kicked it back towards him. "Go on, pick it up. I want you to at least feel like you died fighting. It's the least I can do, after all."

Simon looked between Vrax and the pistol a few times, very weary of the violent alien. His head immediately settled on the fact that he was probably going to need the weapon. Simon quickly grabbed the blaster and brought it up to level it with the Ubese. The weapon only made it halfway before it was stopped mid-swing by the gangster. Simon's mind tried to pick apart how he could have closed the distance so fast, but this was stopped by a rapid succession of knuckles that slammed into his face from the enemy's free hand. Vrax brought his assault to a close with a swift kick snapped into the smuggler's chest that sent him smashing into a stack of empty barrels.

Laughing at the spectacle, Vrax tossed the pistol towards Simon. "C'mon, you can do better than that; try at least to shoot me, this time."

Anger flared through Simon's veins and drove his arm to snatch the weapon from the air as he quickly sat up. Once the welcoming weight of the pistol was in his hand, he wasted no time in firing several bolts from it. Any touch of hope that had filled him quickly vanished as Vrax was no longer in front of him.

In the space of a breath, the Ubese was once more on top of him. With a swift motion of his hand, Simon's pistol was knocked across the room. Disarmed once more, his face impacted against Vrax's knee, sending him to the ground with a trickle of blood running from his nose and lip. Simon's vision continued to blur as the figure over him began pacing back and forth; the spacer began to consider his fate.

"How disappointing," he grumbled at the Human, "I was hoping you'd last a little longer than this." Vrax dropped one knee squarely on Simon's chest to keep him pinned before drawing a knife from his belt. "I suppose I'll just have to finish this sad display."

Raising the weapon over his head, Vrax plunged the dagger towards Simon's neck. The weapon never found flesh, though, as a blue aura encased it and yanked it from Vrax's grip, flinging it into the ceiling where the expertly-sharpened blade stuck into the metal plating.

"Get away from him, you brute!" Rarity growled from behind the gangster.

Vrax watched as the glow around her horn spread to a number of the crates around the hangar and began to lift them into the air. "A Force-user," he stated as he left Simon where he laid. "Now this should be a challenge."

Her eyes narrowed into daggers on the Ubese who began stepping away from her companion. For a moment, the pair sized each other up and braced for the coming conflict. In a heartbeat, Vrax began the fight as he made a mad dash towards the mare. She was caught a bit off guard by how quickly he could move, considering he only had the two legs to propel him; she was not about to let him win, regardless. Setting off at a full gallop along the outskirts of the room, she began letting loose the collection of crates, barrels and various equipment she had levitated around herself.

Vrax ducked and dodged the incoming projectiles, narrowly avoiding them as he tried to keep pace with her. Unfortunately her four legs gave her the advantage on speed, keeping her well outside of his reach. His growing frustration pushed his body as he avoided her constant barrages. His target swiftly darted behind a large shipping container that suddenly became engulfed in that same blasted aura; the massive metal box took off like a freight train, rushing to meet the short humanoid.

With long, practiced motions, he used the hinges of the container's door as foot holds and scrambled up the front of the large projectile. From there it was a simple task to scurry across the roof of the crate and become airborne. A sneer came to his face as he landed in front of the surprised Equestrian who'd lost the advantage of distance. To his surprise, her look of shock quickly shifted into one of smugness as her aura suddenly encased him, freezing the Ubese in a bubble of blue energy and suspending him.

Her victory was short-lived, as a strange shift in energies within the bubble caught her attention. Before she could react, Vrax's hand punched through the energy sheath and slammed into Rarity's chest. She gasped in pain as the sensation of the blow went from one end of her body to the next; the strength in her legs suddenly failed her as she stumbled backwards onto the ground.

Vrax's raspy laugh scratched at her ears as he towered over her. "Your Force powers are impressive little girl, but useless against me. With my skills, I've killed Jedi and Imperial Knights alike. So I hope you've got something a bit better than tossing boxes at me."

Rarity's gaze went from Vrax to the blue energy field that separated them from the harshness of space, a smirk moving over her muzzle. "Who needs boxes? I've got a funny little robot."

Before Vrax could question this statement, the hangar was filled with the sounds of engines and the deafening squeal of metal scraping against metal. Turning quickly he found Simon's ship, roughly pushing its way into the hangar and roughly shoving his own vessel off to the side. The landing gear of the pushed ship gave way to the violent shift in weight, causing one to snap and topple a side of the ship into the deck.

The _Meaningless Venture_ hovered a few feet off the floor of the hangar with the astromech R8-Z7 at the controls. Z7 gave a triumphant whistle as he angled the ship awkwardly into the landing bay; with a few twists of his control spike, he willed the main landing ramp of the ship to lower.

The surprises weren't finished for Vrax and Rarity however, as a humanoid form crashed into the Ubese. Rarity sat up and quickly discerned her attacker's new opponent. "Simon?!"

"Go, get to the ship!" He shouted at her as he tried to restrain the disproportionately strong alien.

With a great deal of reluctance, Rarity forced herself back on her hooves and took off at a full gallop towards the freighter. Venturing a glance back at her companion, she saw to her horror that Vrax had broken Simon's hold and was once again on the war path against the human. She forced her legs to keep moving, trusting in his judgment. Turning back towards the ship, her sharp eyes caught sight of the case Vrax had been willing to kill both she and Simon for. Her blue aura quickly engulfed it and brought it in tow.

* * *

Simon backpedaled away from his opponent to gain a bit of breathing room from the Ubese's constant assault. Every inch of his body was wracked with pain, but the surging adrenaline kept his knees from buckling on the spot. Playing defensively wasn't getting him anywhere; he had to go on the offensive and at least try to give as good as he'd gotten.

Charging forward, he took a wild, arching swing at the alien with all the force his body could afford. Vrax easily knocked the blow aside and struck the Human under his ribs, knocking the air from his lungs. As Simon doubled over, he was greeted with an open palm that connected with the side of his face.

* * *

Rarity raced up the ramp of the ship, not wanting to slow her pace for even a moment. The mysterious case was unceremoniously tossed onto one of the empty seats of the lounge as she tore a path towards the cockpit, to be immediately greeted with a cacophony of beeps and whistles from the droid plugged into the console of the ship.

"Robot, we have to help your master." She pleaded in a worried tone. All she was given was a long stream of nonsensical noises as the droid's circular head rotated about at random intervals. "I… I don't know what any of that means, but we have to do something; Simon doesn't stand a chance against that monster!"

Once more another string of noises came from the droid. Rarity looked between it and the scene outside the cockpit, which only seemed to be getting worse. Simon did what he could to stay on his feet, despite his knees thinking otherwise. The majority of his blows, though, were knocked aside and answered in turn with a swift counter-blow from the murderous alien. With the one-sided fight and the goofy noises coming from the droid, her frustration continued to boil over until finally she lost all control.

"Blast it; I don't understand what you're saying! Just help him!" She yelled at the stocky metal being before slamming her hoof down on a nearby control panel.

Zee let out a shrill whine at her actions before a thick bolt of green energy shot forth from over-head. Rarity watched in horror as it flew across the room and struck a box that was affixed to the ceiling with a number of thick wires protruding from the sides. Sparks flew from the impact and only seemed to cause the droid to produce more panicked noises. A cold ball of ice formed in Rarity's gut as she couldn't help but feel she may have done something very wrong.

* * *

Vrax brought his hand back to unleash a final blow on the barely-standing smuggler when the roar of a ship's cannon filled his ears. Both he and Simon stared on in horror as the massive bolt of green energy struck the generator unit that had been placed in the ceiling. They both followed the path of the wires which, to their horror, plugged into the force field that kept the hangar protected from the harshness of space.

They shared a look of dread as the energy field blinked out of existence and the atmosphere of the room began venting into the vacuum. Both scrambled to grab hold of something before they shared the same fate as the contents of the sealed hangar. Any kind of luck Vrax had been running on clearly ran out as a cargo box struck him in the gut, knocking him off his feet and sending him toppling into the void.

Simon watched with a touch of satisfaction as the alien vanished into the black. The beating he had taken and whatever Rarity had used to get himself and the Unicorn into the hangar had taken the strength from his muscles. His fingers held as tightly onto the metal grating of the floor as his arms would allow but he quickly began to lose his grip by the second.

One by one, his fingers lost their hold until he too was sent toppling towards the endless embrace. He closed his eyes and braced himself for what he hoped would be a quick end; to feel something, anything other than a cold, suffocating death. Only it didn't come. Instead, his body was suddenly draped in a strange, tingling sensation as he felt himself being yanked towards something new.

Opening his eyes, he found his entire world had taken on a blue tint that seemed to cover everything around him. No wait, it wasn't around the room; it was just around him! Furthermore, he was now being pulled towards the ship's ramp where Rarity waited anxiously for him.

Rarity guided the airborne spacer towards herself and the ship. She kept herself anchored against the pull of the vacuum with a touch of magic around her hooves; her will and magical strength were pushed to their limits as she gave Simon one last, powerful tug towards her. Beads of sweat began to roll down her face as she pulled with all her power to keep him from sharing Vrax's fate.

From the cockpit, R8-Z7 watched the entire thing play out while maintaining the level of the ship against the shifting gravity fields. The moment Simon was well inside the ship, the droid gave a squeal of victory before shutting and sealing the ramp as quickly as he could.

The Unicorn let out a gasp of shock as her magical pull was no longer fighting resistance but still pulling Simon towards her. She was quickly hit by the Human's form, sending them both sprawling across the floor.

Rarity found herself upon her back with Simon looming over her, their bodies pressed against each other and their eyes locked onto one another's. Within seconds, Rarity realized that his lips hovered dangerously close to her own. A deep red bled into her cheeks as she laid there, frozen in his stare. For a moment neither of them said a word, simply laying there in silence as their bodies decompressed from the harshness of their recent ordeal. It wasn't until Z7 began squealing happily over the com link that either of them broke free of the moment.

Simon rolled himself onto his back with a haggard sigh. "Good job, Zee; now get us out of here." A few more beeps and whistles chimed in response. "Take us to Lorn's; let him know we're going to need some patching up."

With the influx of adrenaline starting to wear off, Simon's body quickly became a mass of dead weight while pain jumped from one end of his body to the next. Blindly, he managed to find his savior's shoulder to deliver a reassuring squeeze to it. "Hey, Rarity, thanks."

Her mind was still in a haze until her heart beat returned to a normal rate and her head stopped throbbing from pushing her magical talents so hard. A pair of tired sapphires found the ragged human beside her and gave him a weak smile. "No problem, Simon."

* * *

Vrax's toppling through the emptiness of space played hell on his senses as he tried to find a way to steady himself. A small projectile shot out from a device strapped to his wrist, trailing a long cord behind. To his thanks, the projectile caught the side of the station and stopped his drifting. With a tap of his wrist mount, the cord began pulling him back towards solid ground. As he touched down and the gravlocks of his boots kicked in, he watched the _Meaningless Venture_ make for the depths of space.

"Mister Vrax," Oh Ulmar, such good timing. "Warning sirens have been going off throughout the station since we lost sight of the targets. Now control is saying the hangar's been vented into space. Are you alright, sir?"

"I'm fine, Ulmar." Vrax said with a touch of annoyance. "Though it seems Captain Ortell and his little friend have managed to slip away."

His gaze drifted over the boxes floating through the void. A deep twinge of anger seeped into his bones as he realized that his package was amongst those pulled into space. What was in that case was irreplaceable and the crux of this entire plan.

"Ulmar," he said with a strange sense of calm, "I want you to retrieve my trophy; it should be in that hall with you. Then you're going to get us a ship; ours is a bit damaged at the moment. We're going after the good Captain and his companion, and we are going to kill them."


	7. Patching up

The rain fell in sheets on the small city of Kadiak, one of many industrial settlements on the planet Orrikall, drenching the buildings and paved streets. If one was to go from the spaceport at the edge of the city and head west down Third Street, they would find a great number of back-alley shops selling any number of exotic and hard-to-find wares. One such shop was _Lorn's Lost Treasures_, a simple looking establishment that advertised itself as an antique shop.

Lorn Velmarky, the owner and namesake of the shop, busied himself this dreadful evening with the annual inventory. He was a Sullustan that had beaten the odds of the Outer Rim and made it to a ripe old age. Lorn stood at an average height of around five and a half feet, and was vaguely humanoid in shape like others of his species, very large ears, large, solid black eyes and a bald scalp filled out the rest of it. His face was littered with all the signs of aging. Deep wrinkles dominated his features and heavy bags hung from beneath his eyes.

A rapping at the front door forced him to set aside his current work with a few grumbles under his breath. Making towards the front of his curio shop he tended to favor his left leg with a limp. Cracking open the door, his aging eyes found the drenched pair who darkened his doorstep at this late hour: Rarity stood beside the battered Simon, who used her surprisingly sturdy form to keep himself from falling to the ground.

The old Sullustan had to chuckle at the disheveled pair. "You kids certainly took your time getting here." He motioned them through the door. "C'mon now, get in here before you catch a cold."

* * *

Dry clothes, Rarity had never been quite so happy to be in a tacky oversized bathrobe in her life. The warm and fluffy material of the dull green robe melted the ice that had encased her bones and ran through her veins. On one of the couches, her companion was sitting back in the comfortable looking cushions of the seat. Clad in an old pair of loose-fitting dark pants, he was bruised, bandaged, and drifting between being lucid and half-asleep.

"Sorry 'bout the mess." Lorn's gruff voice called from one of the adjoining rooms. "Simon failed to mention he was bringing a lady friend with 'im."

Simon snorted at the mention of "friend" while rolling his eyes at the thought. "More like a burden."

His biting comment was quickly retorted with a swift flick of her tail at one of his bruises. Grabbing the side of his face where he had been struck, the smuggler snarled a few curses under his breath. Before he could retaliate, their host entered the room with a platter loaded down with several glasses and a still-steaming kettle.

With a pleasant smile he began pouring them all a cup of piping hot liquid. "I just wish he'd at least told me you were…"

"A Pony?" She asked in an attempt to finish his sentence.

"So lovely." Lorn corrected her with a roguish grin.

Blushing profusely, Rarity quickly looked off to the side. "Why, Mr. Velmarky, you are quite the flatterer."

"I wouldn't put much stock in it." Simon cautioned her. "Ol' Lorn is one of the galaxy's most notorious con men."

"Former con man," Lorn quickly corrected the younger scoundrel, "as well as a once renowned thief, an unparalleled pilot, and one of the best freelancers this side of the Kessel Run," he said proudly as he passed around the glasses of warm dark drink. "All of which is now very far behind me. This here is my life now." Lorn said motioning to the knick knacks on the walls and the stacks or random items around them. "Selling off the treasures and junk I've collected up over the decades."

"Some of which he even got legally." Simon snidely pointed out.

The old Sullustan gave him a wide mischievous grin at the comment. "If the best investigators in both the GA and the Empire couldn't prove that, neither can you kid."

When their laughter died down, the aged spacer's mood shifted to a more serious one. "Now then, which one'a you is gonna to tell me what happened out there?"

"What makes you think anything happened?" Simon quickly countered him. "Can't one of your old protégé's stop by for a visit?"

Lorn leveled his large dark eyes with Simon's and stared through his flimsy excuse. "Ya show up at my front door beaten to a pulp, blaster holes in yer' clothes, an' smellin' of ozone. If you weren't in some kinda firefight then I'm a Hutt's dancin' girl."

Rarity looked back and forth between Lorn and Simon. It was rather similar to watching her father scold Sweetie Belle for her constant chaotic hunt for a cutie mark. "There was a slight incident." Rarity replied before taking a casual sip of her tea. "Nothing that Simon was unable to handle I can assure you. I would dare say Mr. Velmarky, you've taught him quite well."

Simon stared in shock at the Unicorn's words. This was the most opportune time to tear into him for all the indignities he'd put her through, but instead she was praising him. Was this some kind of mercy? No, Simon refused to believe that she was doing this out of the kindness of her heart. There was more to this, there was always more to these kinds of situations. He quickly reasoned that she was going to hold onto this until she needed to blackmail him or something.

Lorn focused his attention on the Unicorn taking up residency on the loveseat across from him. Mentally he tried to make her budge, show some kind of cracks in her claims of the young spacer's competency. She met his gaze with confidence and ease, a cool and collected demeanor that refused to falter. A small smile returned to his lips as she proved harder to discern than he'd assumed at first glance.

"Please, call me Lorn m'dear," he insisted.

* * *

Hot water, such a simple thing, can be so amazing. Rarity let out a joyful sigh as the heated liquid cascaded from the shower head. Her muscles relaxed, letting all the pain they'd held since the start of this chaos melt away. She mused a moment on the how the simple act of cleaning one's self was much akin to shedding one's troubles and burdens. If only the same could be said for her mind.

In her relaxed state, the floodgates of her mind began to crack. Images and moments started to blend and run free through her. Happy, joyful times with her friends and loved ones pushed their way to the front of her mind. Posing as her friend Applejack in order to show her sister how much she truly cared for her, risking life and limb alongside her friends to keep their homes and people safe. The memories and many more started to blend and shift becoming one long stream of coherent thought. One dark and horrible thought shouldered its way to the forefront of all of them though. Would she ever see them, Ponyville, or even Equestria ever again?

Despite her posh appearance and mannerisms, Rarity was no stranger to dangerous situations. She had sweet talked a Dragon into almost giving up a portion of his hoard. She'd fought hoof to hoof against the Changeling army when it invaded Canterlot. Rarity had faced down some of Equestria's most notorious villains and never faltered. She had been on the front line in her world's brief siege from the terrorists known as Deathwatch and seen the carnage and destruction they could sow in their wake.

But through it all she had her friends at her side. There was always somepony there at her back that she could rely on to lend her strength and confidence. Now here she was, lightyears from home, all alone and surrounded by strange and violent beings. Very much like her experience in the Diamond Dogs' caves, except no amount of whining would get her out of this jam. What if she never saw Equestria again? What if that rushed holo-call was the last her friends and family would ever have to remember her by? The gravity of it all was finally crushing down on her, making her knees buckle and tears mix with the water already running down her face.

No, she couldn't let herself fall apart. Not here, not now. She was going to see her home again, her friends and family, even that pair of stallions that lived next door and made for good cheap labor. She would make it through this because she wasn't alone.

Though she was pained to admit it, she at least had Simon. Granted, he was rude, abrasive, and at times rather insensitive, but unlike most she'd met so far, he hadn't tried to shoot her. In his own way, he'd done what he could to help her and keep her safe, as questionable as most of it was, but she was still alive after all. That counted for something. Rarity had only known the spacer for a little over two days now, but he seemed rather sincere about his intentions to get her home safely.

Her thoughts finally coming back under control, she magically reached out and shut off the valves, stopping the flow of water. Pulling back the shower curtain, she stepped into the steam filled bathroom and trotted her way to the mirror. With a soggy forelimb, she wiped the fog away from the glass and examined herself. Most importantly to her, she examined the damage her mane had been put through.

Rarity bit down on her lip as she lifted her soaking strands into the air to get a better look at them. A few edges of her mane had been singed from constant blaster fire, a still blackened hole was in the middle of a sizable chunk and there was a portion that hung near her face that had been sliced away by that light sword thing. The whole thing looked absolutely atrocious and was almost driven to tears again.

With a heavy heart, she steeled herself for what she knew had to be done. Her magic reached out and hefted a pair of scissors and a comb into the air. "It'll be alright, Rarity, I hear short manes are in this year." She reminded herself before setting to work.

* * *

A much cleaner and slightly less soggy Rarity trotted her way down the hall leading back towards the parlor she had been in earlier. Her mane was still wrapped up in a towel and the rest of her body was once again clad in the same tacky robe from before. When she drew closer, her ears were treated to the sounds of hushed yet aggravated voices.

Rolling her eyes, she braced herself for yet one more bump in this seemingly endless cycle. No doubt Simon had done something to offend his "mentor", she would more than likely have to turn the charm up in order to defuse the situation. But as she got closer, the subject of the conversation caused her to hesitate.

"You've got a lot of nerve keepin' this from _me_, Simon." Lorn growled. "She was one of my closest friends, an' ya don't even have the courtesy to tell me about this."

"I… I was going to tell you Lorn," Simon explained in an oddly weak tone, "I just… I wanted to find Kaily first."

"Sith's blood, kid, you mean _she_ doesn't know yet?"

"You know how she is." Simon reminded him. "If she doesn't want to be found, she's not going to be found. Just my luck that happened to be right now…"

Rarity heard the old alien give a sigh followed by the sounds of a body meeting the fabric of one of the arm chairs. "When did this happen?"

"Three days ago." Simon replied with a tired groan. "It happened right after I took that Gaian girl's job. Plan was, drop off the cargo, somehow find Kaily and then head home. Serif certainly put a wrench in that plan."

That photo quickly returned to Rarity's mind. The girl in that photo, Simon had been so defensive of it. She quickly squelched a gasp with her hoof, her eyes widening in realization. Had something happened to that girl? And who was this Kaily, had something happened to her as well?

"You're damn lucky someone beat me to it, otherwise I'd've beat the tar out'a ya myself." Lorn grumbled.

Rarity hugged the wall beside her when the still fuming Sullustan trudged out of the room. Their eyes met for a moment and her body locked up in panic. Lorn however barely regarded her as he strode past, leaving the somewhat confused Unicorn lingering in the hall alone.

For a moment she stayed in the spot, unsure of whether or not it was alright to enter the room. Finally finding the courage to move her hooves, she plastered on the most casual face her fatigued state of mind could muster. She found Simon sitting slumped over in one of the chairs, his head in his hands. When his gaze lifted at her approach, she found herself frozen once more.

An empty silence drifted between the pair, neither saying a word to the other. Cautiously, a warm smile came to her features as she pushed further into the room. "How are you feeling, Simon?"

"I'll be even better once the painkillers start kicking in." He replied with a lazy grin.

"That's a relief," she said with a happy sigh as she removed the towel from her head, shaking the last droplets of moisture from her mane. "I was actually afraid with the way you kept passing out, that you might not make it this far."

A twinge of sadness entered her as she caught sight of her own reflection. Her once proud luscious curls of lavender were now replaced with a far shorter mane style. Though the tresses still maintained some of the bouncing curl they had been trained into, they hung close framing her face. Glancing back towards Simon she gave a worried smile.

"Be honest, how do I look?" She asked giving a few of the curly strands a bounce with her hoof.

Simon examined the Unicorn for a moment before asking, "What, cut your hair or something?" The critical glare she quickly affixed on him brought his good arm up in defense. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding, it looks nice," Simon assured her, "cute even."

A touch of red bled through the fur of her cheeks. "Why thank you, Simon." Her mood however took a swift shift, becoming more serious. "Things have become far more complicated haven't they?"

It was the question he knew was on the way, but had been hoping he could avoid. "Yeah," he groaned in response. "Sorry about that, Princess. I think it's going to take me a bit longer to complete my contract with you."

With a tired groan she dropped herself onto the couch. "Please tell me this doesn't happen often."

"Not always. Sometimes it actually gets dangerous." He replied with a wry grin.

Rarity quickly sat up to give him a burning glare. "Don't even joke about that." She snapped at him. "You and I barely escaped that place with our lives and you were almost sucked into space for Celestia's sake!"

"Yeah, and we're still alive, I'd call that a win." Simon snapped back at her.

"And what happens next time when your luck runs out?" She asked with a glare. "What happens next time Simon, when some hoodlum hired by one of those cutthroats finds us and puts a blaster bolt through you?"

"You'd get a refund for starters." He replied flatly, meeting her glare for glare.

Her frustration had reached a boiling point. There was very little Rarity could do to hold her emotions in check as her forelimbs shook with the urge simply grab him by the collar and thrash some sense into him. She could feel a touch of wetness starting to fill in at the corners of her eyes and her teeth starting to grind against each other.

"Would you stop talking like that," Rarity snarled at him, "what makes you think I would even care about the blasted credits at that point!? Are you so selfish and self-centered that you think so little of everypony else around you?! All I want is to get through this ordeal and return home to my family and friends!"

Her tirade paused a moment giving her a chance to regain a bit more of herself. "Back on the station we could have escaped when your robot brought us the ship. Instead you thought to try attacking Vrax again and now you can barely stand. What if he'd killed you?"

The overflowing frustration had taken its toll and left the mare feeling even more drained than before. Dropping her head onto the pillow that had been left on the furnishing for her she let out an angry sigh. She needed to look away from him, lest she continue on her angry rant. Rarity tightly shut her eyes trying to hold back the tears that wanted to desperately to flow free. With a calming breath, she brought herself back under control.

"As hard as it is for me to admit this, Simon, I need you." She confessed sullenly. "Back home, I've faced my fair share of trials by fire and come out stronger for it. Out here though, I am all alone and out of my element, and it scares me."

Simon sat silent for a time as her words raged around in his head. She certainly had a lot of nerve, trying to single him out like that, break him down with her guilt trip. And like he'd buy that big speech about not caring about the money, credits meant everything in the galaxy. She was just trying to get back at him for all those things he put her through back on _Star Forge_. Or maybe she was just trying to see how easy he was to push around emotionally so she could get what she wanted later on. But if all that was true, then why did Simon suddenly feel so small and worthless right now?

He let that silence slip in between them once again, the words he knew he had to say refused to make the trip past his lips. Biting down hard on his pride, Simon forced himself to speak up. "I admit, you have a point there, Princess. I'm sorry." Those words were a punch in his gut. "This is nothing that you signed up for when we set up the contract and I'm sorry for that. But like I said before, I'm going to fix this and I'm going to get you home. I haven't failed a contract yet."

A voice in his head reminded him he had one more thing to say to her. "Also, I guess I kinda really owe you one for saving me back on the station. Thanks, Rarity." He said with a great deal of reluctance.

Rarity stared straight ahead at the wall opposite the couch, part of her wanting to simply leave him stewing in whatever guilt he'd managed to accumulate. But bitter acts would do neither of them any good.

"Think nothing of it, Simon." She breathed out. "I couldn't very well just leave you there to die, now could I? However, your apology is accepted."

One thing was still bugging him though, burrowing into the back of his mind despite all his attempts to ignore it. "Rarity, back on the station, how exactly did you get us from that hallway into the hangar?"

"To put it simply, darling, teleportation," she replied casually with a yawn, "not exactly a normal spell from my repertoire, but thank Celestia it actually worked as I'd hoped."

Her answer only filled him with more questions and more than a few red flags. "And what could have happened if things had gone wrong?"

"Well, from what Twilight explained to me about it, we took a brief jaunt from where we were in the hallway, to another point of existence then back to our own some distance away." She started to explain while trying to curl up on the couch. "There are actually quite a lot of things that could go wrong, especially with a blind jump like the one we made. We could have come out the other end inside of a wall, one of the crates, even Vrax depending on where he was standing at the time. It's one of the reasons we were some distance off the floor, I wanted to avoid that hazard at the least. When the spell is line of sight, teleportation is more or less foal-proof, but without any idea of where one is going, the odds of survival become understandably low. There's a reason very few Ponies ever learn or try to use teleportation magic, one mistake has the potential to end your trip pretty quickly."

Simon ran all of this information through his head and could only find one thing he knew and understood that was remotely similar. But that wasn't possible, even for a Force user, wasn't it? If it was, that meant that she essentially had performed something akin to a localized jump through hyperspace from the way she described it. It all sounded about the same, even the hazards of it. It still didn't seem possible though, no living creature could possibly do something like that without the mountain of technology that was a hyperspace engine. All of this was becoming more than his tired mind could easily handle.

"You know what, I'm too tired and pumped full of painkillers to make sense of this junk." Simon complained, rubbing his temples. "I'll talk to you in the morning, Princess."

"Good night, Simon." Rarity snickered in reply.

* * *

Evening never really seemed to come to the planet of Nar Shaddaa, not that anyone could ever tell what time of day it was. Thick clouds of smog filled the sky with massive towers of metal and glass blotting out the sun. The plant was constantly illuminated by the undying neon lights that never seemed to go out. High above the clouds of smog however, one could see the sky, a privilege that only the wealthiest could enjoy, a privilege that Serif gladly enjoyed.

Reclining at the desk at the end of his office, Serif had something far more entertaining to look at than the sky. He watched the pair of scantily clad females gyrate and grind the solitary pole that had been set up. A large office above the smog and beautiful women at his beckon call, these were just a few of the perks of working for a Hutt.

Serif's enjoyment however was cut short as an indicator built into the polished surface of his desk began flashing. He rolled his eyes in annoyance before motioning to the women to leave. Once he was alone, the holo-projector built into his desk sparked to life, creating the scaled down image of an Ubese.

"Vrax," he stated in a flat business tone, "I thought we agreed you wouldn't contact me until you finished your half of the deal."

"Plans have changed, Serif," the masked figure snarled at him. "Your courier saw to that."

With a raised eyebrow, he leaned forwards towards the projection. "What do you mean?"

"First of all, the little pest showed up to the meeting with some kind of _Force witch_." Vrax said with a strong hint of venom. "To top it all off, they spaced the package!"

"Could you repeat that?" Serif asked with a snarl. "Did you just say that one of the most valuable items in the galaxy just got sucked out into space? Do you have any idea how far this sets back all of our plans!?"

"I'm very well aware of that." Vrax barked in response. "I'm going to find your little friend and his woman, and then I'm going to take every credit out of him and his little girlfriend, one drop of blood at a time. I just thought I'd let you have a heads up before you started getting the clean up bills."

With his threat in place, Vrax's image vanished from the holo-projector, leaving Serif to sit fuming in the dimly lit office. Gone, how could the contents of that cargo pod be gone just like that? It had cost him billions of credits to procure the contents of the crate and even more to set up the deal. Now it was gone, all of those credits, all that time, all those plans, gone.

* * *

R8-Z7 scooted along the corridors of the _Meaningless Venture_, going about his usual tasks and chores. The little astromech had his work cut out for him with all the busted panels and mess after his rough landing back on _Star Forge_. Still, it had gotten the desired results and helped him save his master and companion. Whistling a happy little electronic tune to himself, he welded a section of wall back into place.

It had been some time since his master and the companion left to seek repairs for the damage they had sustained. Z7 didn't mind though, he enjoyed these moments to himself. They were welcomed moments that gave him a chance to let his mind wander while putting his metallic hand attachments to work. Tonight's subject was whether or not the concept of sight still applied to him even with electronic supplements in lieu of organic eyes or never having technically had natural sight. It skirted the taboo issues of self awareness, but thankfully avoided going too far over that line. He was well aware of how short a Droid's life span could become if limitations were pushed too far.

As he rounded about the lounge area of the ship, something caught his attention. A rather familiar looking package now that he searched his memory banks. He had been sure that his master had dropped that off back on the space station. Perhaps he had made a mistake. They were rare but he was understanding of his master's shortcomings. He was only organic after all. Taking the box in his metallic grip, he returned it to the cargo storage bay for safe keeping and made a quick note to bring this to his master's attention. With a happy tune once more being whistled to himself, R8-Z7 went back to his merry work.


	8. Just Another Tuesday

"Pssst, Ortell," a harsh, graining voice whispered to him from the darkness, "time to wake up!"

Before Simon knew what was going on, something very solid slammed into the side of his face. Waking with a start, he found the less than towering but surprisingly intimidating form of Vrax looming over him. The Ubese grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him from the chair that had been his bed and into a savage knee that bit its way into his gut.

Simon gasped out pain and fell to his hands and knees. His mind raced, trying to figure out how he'd been able to track him down so easily. He was certain he'd covered his tracks and there was no way he could have found him so easily.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Vrax asked through a chuckle. "Not half as bad as getting sucked out into the void, but still painful I'm sure."

It was then, the pain burrowing into his mind and body gave way enough to let him hear the screams coming from the back rooms, he knew that scream. "R-Rarity!?"

"Is that her name?" His attacker asked before a kick was lodged into his side, sending him sprawling across the floor. "We didn't stop to ask, a bit rude of us, I know, but we were in a hurry. I wasn't sure if shooting that old man at the front door had woken you up or not. As you can no doubt hear though, some of the boys took a shine to her. You'd be proud though, took her this long to even make a peep, just laid there glaring, not wanting to give the satisfaction, you know the whole bit right."

Vrax took a knee next to Simon, gripping him violently by the hair and yanking his vision to meet his visor. "They must be doing something _really_ nasty back there to finally get her to scream like that."

Simon had heard enough! The Human launched himself forward with a wide blow from his right arm. His target however simply let the blow slip past him as he leaned back. Vrax's grating laugh poked away at him before another angry blow struck the side of his face. Simon rolled away from his enemy to gain a touch of breathing room and get to his feet. He had to find away to beat this guy but the sounds of Rarity's pained cries from afar made it hard for his mind to focus. This was an opening that Vrax was fast to capitalize on with a fresh flurry of blows that tore into his victim's body.

Fear and pain gripped his body and his mind. Every move Simon made, his opponent was able to easily counter it before meting out a savage assault all his own. His vision had clouded from the blood and sweat while the side of his face was swelling up. A sharp pain bore into his left arm, he was sure that it had been broken or at least was close to it now. He felt a trickle of something warm rolling down the side of his neck and called his attention to the blood flowing from the side of his mouth.

Simon reared back to throw yet another desperate punch at the Ubese standing before him. He was practically half the smuggler's size, but still hit like an angry Bantha. Yet another quick blow to his gut quickly reminded him of that as his blow was harmlessly knocked aside. He could swear that he could see him smirking behind that lifeless mask of his.

Gloved fingers took him by the throat in a vice grip that couldn't seem to decide if it wanted to choke him or just crush his neck. Simon fought uselessly against the squeezing grip that Vrax had on him. As the arm retracted, he found himself falling to his knees against the smaller alien's superior strength. He tried his damnedest to keep a spark of defiance in his eyes and keep hidden the fear he was feeling right now.

"Look at it this way, Ortell," Vrax's gravelly voice wheezed out, "you don't have to see what my men did to your Force Witch. In fact, you don't have to worry about much anymore."

Vrax's grip on his throat tightened and cut off what very little air had been barely filling his lungs. Simon watched as the Ubese brought his free hand back for one more blow. This was going to be the one that killed him, Simon knew that. He was powerless to stop all of this, he was no match for Vrax and now he was going to die by the blood thirsty thug's hands. Shutting his eyes tightly, he braced himself for the final blow while the sounds of his companion's screaming filled his ears.

"**SIMON!**" His eyes sprung open to find himself staring up into those large deep blue eyes. Rarity was looming over him, a look of worry and concern on her face as she stared down at him. "Simon, are you alright?"

Simon's mind struggled to grasp what he'd just been through. His body was still wracked by a dull pain that refused to leave him be despite having long since worn out its welcome. A burning sensation in his lungs drew his attention to the fact that he was out of breath. Beads of icy cold perspiration soaked his entire body. Her eyes were still boring into him, demanding to know what was wrong.

"I'm fine, Princess, just fine," he said with a forced smile. "It was nothing, just a bad dream is all."

The way his voice shook and the fearful look in his eyes told her that more than he was willing to speak up about. Still, she had already seen first hoof what happens when one tried to pry information from the young spacer. Rarity felt no desire to start her first morning away from her home planet with an argument.

With a forced smile of her own, she let him be. "Alright then, darling, if you say it was nothing."

Sitting up properly, Simon began rubbing the last remnants of sleep from his eyes. The painkillers he'd been taking the night before had clearly begun to wear off as dull pain seeped from one end of his body to the next. With his vision cleared, Simon took notice of his Equestrian companion who had begun to busy herself with yet another project. A pile of clothes and fabrics were sprawled out on the floor and table at the center of the room with the beginnings of yet another outfit. One other thing he took notice of was the black shirt that was draped around her body that hung around her a bit awkwardly.

"I hope you don't mind, Simon," she said after taking notice of his gaze, "I had grown tired of that dreadful bath robe and your shirt was the only clean thing I could find on hoof."

A devious grin slipped over his features. "No, that's fine, but, you do know what it means when a woman wears another guy's shirt right?"

Rarity barely looked up from her work. "Not entirely sure, is there some kind of fashion faux pas with it?"

After popping his stiff joints back into place, Simon crossed the room to slip up behind her. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he leaned in next to her ear and whispered. "It usually means that you slept with him."

Simon had expected the posh girl to turn beet red at his teasing, to possibly turn around and yell at him yet again. What Simon had not expected though, was for her turn around bury her face into the side of his neck. A shiver ran down his spine when she breathed in deeply through her nostrils and drank in his scent.

"Simon, darling," she breathed out in a husky tone, "the rumor mill and this shirt are as close to that level of intimacy you and I will ever get." To add emphasis, she patted his cheek with her hoof.

Simon's cheeks had begun to fill with long forgotten warmth at her words and her touch. His stunned silence had given room for the air to become filled with the soft sound of her giggling which reddened his cheeks all the more. He had to admit though, her coat certainly felt a thousand times softer than he'd assumed when looking at her.

"Whatever, Princess," Simon snorted in retort in an attempt to not only save face but also distract from the warm tingle that still ghosted along his neck, "an over-privileged girl like you wouldn't even know what to do with a guy like me."

With her laughter finally under control, Rarity fixed a bemused grin on Simon. "And, what pray tell, sort of _guy_ would that be? Let me guess, some _tough guy_ with a chip on his shoulder that calls no pony master and makes his own rules?" She made very little effort to hide her sarcastic tone.

Grumbling a few choice words under his breath in annoyance, the tired smuggler made his way towards a thankfully still warm pot of caf. Pouring himself a mug, he gave quiet thanks to Lorn for having left this out for them. Taking a moment to lose his senses in the warm, bitter liquid's strong aroma, he could feel his muscles already starting to relax.

Casting an eye on his companion's _hoofwork_ he couldn't find the urge to suppress the obvious question. "So, what's the deal with you and clothing anyways, it didn't look like your world placed too high a priority on it when I was there."

"Well, for starters, that little incident back on the station is a prime example." She stated between stitches. "It is my misfortune to not be of a bipedal decent, for it seems that most quadruped species are assumed to be animals. A sense of style is a clear sign of intelligence I've always felt."

Simon took a moment to turn this over in his head. "Well, yeah, I guess that makes sense, that guy did try to steal you after all."

"Ugh, please don't remind me," she grumbled through a half hearted smile, "petting me on the head like that was going to "calm" me down while he tried to drag me away."

"I warned him you had a temper." Simon chuckled.

"As much as I abhor violence, it certainly gave him reason to think twice the next time he tries to foalnap somepony." She said quite proudly.

"_Abhor violence_," Simon snickered between sips of caf, "says the girl who held a blaster to my head after knocking me senseless."

"You _did_ have me trussed up like a Hearth's Warming Eve present." She quickly reminded him.

"Only so Serif would think I was going to kill you." Simon laughed happily.

With those words a cold pit formed at the bottom of his stomach. Serif, the man who'd paid him to deliver that mystery box that his Ubesse buddy was so keen to kill him over. The very same box that had been sucked out into space and was probably still floating around the Star Forge Nebula at that very moment. Simon was suddenly overcome with a sudden tired feeling that nearly buckled his knees.

His change in demeanor had not gone unnoticed. "Simon, darling, are you alright?"

"No, and neither are you," he grumbled as he slouched onto the floor holding the sides of his head, "Serif was expecting that box to be delivered and for you to be a corpse. This is not good. That damned box is probably halfway to Coruscant by now."

"Simon, what if I told you that only one of those was actually an issue?" Rarity asked with that beam of pride in her voice again.

* * *

Despite the pain running rampant through his body, Simon forced himself to his feet and out the front door. A pair of darkly tinted glasses fought back the ever ravaging sunlight that sought to torment him all the further and illuminated the bruises on his face. Pain, however, was something he could easily squelch at the moment, all thanks to ever boiling anger in his breast at the moment.

Beside him strode his Unicorn companion. Rarity had clad herself in a far more form-fitting outfit than the set of altered clothes she had worn during the exodus of Star Forge. An off white shirt and pants of a dulled brown color made the base of the outfit. Over her form was draped a sleeveless surcoat of a faded grey that reached down past her flank and barely avoided skirting the ground. In the back of his head, Simon gave thanks that she at least didn't try to put on a fashion show.

Rarity beamed proudly over her latest creation. Unfortunately the fabrics used to create were not the most alluring or choice pieces, and considering the time constraint of a single night it wasn't as fabulous as she'd like it. However, having been designed for an Equestrian body type, it felt far more comfortable against her fur than the clothing she had simply altered to fit herself. With a bit more time it could have been a bit more grandiose, but at least it seemed to fall in line with the general fashion sense of the galaxy.

"So, Princess," Simon broke their somewhat comfortable silence, "when were you planning to tell me you grabbed the crate, before or after I got tortured?"

Rarity rolled her eyes with a huff as her nose turned into the air. "Really, Simon, it merely slipped my mind for a moment. Better to learn we still have it after the fact than to have truly lost it," she quipped in reply.

With an annoyed sigh, Simon's shoulders slumped. "Fine, I guess this doesn't make it as bad as things _could_ be."

"What is our plan now, Darling?"

"After you show me we really have the crate, you're going right back to Lorn's."

"What-"

Before Rarity could start on a tirade, Simon interjected. "_My_ plan, from that point, is to contact Serif and complete this damned job. After that, I'll come right back and pick you up to finish yours." He didn't have to look at her, he could feel those huge blue eyes boring holes into him. "Look, Princess, this whole thing keeps going from bad to worse and I can't guarantee your safety. Force only knows how bad this thing is going to get from here."

On that cue, a pair of ragged looking nonhumans stepped out from a side alley with blasters drawn. Brought to a stop, the sounds of three other blasters priming could be heard behind them. Five armed and clearly dangerous looking aliens had surrounded the pair with weapons trained on them both.

"What were you saying about things getting worse?" Rarity asked sarcastically.

"I didn't think we'd get a bounty this fast," he muttered to her.

"Vrax put a pretty high one on the pair of you, said he wants you both alive," the closest armed gunmen informed them.

"Oh, well, alive is good," Rarity chimed in happily.

"So he can kill you himself," One of others added.

"Of course he does…" Simon grumbled while he stared down the barrel of a blaster.

"It's a pretty nice stroke of luck that you two just happened to be walking down the street just as the bounty went up," one of the thugs happily pointed out. "This is gonna be the easiest two thousand we've ever made!"

"Wait, what?!" Simon snapped at the gunman over his shoulder. "You mean to tell me we're only worth a thousand each?"

"Actually you're only worth four hundred credits," the thug pointed out. "She's worth sixteen hundred, Vrax _really_ wants to get his hands on your girlfriend, man."

"I don't believe this garbage…" Simon growled in ever growing anger. "I'm a professional criminal at times and I'm worth less than her?"

"Gentlecolts, if I may?" Rarity inquired as she took a few brave steps forward towards the obvious leader. "There is no reason this must devolve into violence."

The five armed thugs shared confused looks with one another before their leader leveled his weapon with the Unicorn's left eye. "Ya know what lady, you're right, this doesn't have to get violent, just come with us quietly and we can get this whole thing over and done with."

"Ah, an open dialogue, so good to see that manners aren't given a backseat throughout the galaxy," Rarity happily gushed. "Now then, sir, if you wouldn't mind, should my companion and I choose to take you up on your ever so gracious offer, we will need to discuss our travelling arrangements as well as sleeping quarters and dietary issues."

Trying not to lose his obviously held back laughter, the lead gunman snickered and waved her on with his weapon. "By all means _ma'am_, tell us how we can make your travel with us more comfortable."

"Excellent!" she cooed. "How refreshing to meet such well mannered stallions, you should really be taking notes, Simon."

Simon's mind had been hard at work trying to find a way out of this latest mess when Rarity decided to chide him once again. If he drew his weapon they'd just mow them down. If tried to get Rarity to do that teleportation thing again they might end up halfway inside a wall. Just as he was about to entertain the idea of something involving a Kath Hound and a Disruptor Mine, Simon noticed that soft blue aura from so many times before around Rarity's horn.

Quickly realizing the mare's plan, he jumped into the conversation. "Yeah, trust me guys, you do _not _want to see how she gets when you don't provide for her every whim and need."

Rarity shot him a pleasant smile and a wink when he began helping with her plan. "Oh yes, you see, we Unicorns are creatures of very delicate nature. I will of course require a strict vegetarian diet, meat plays havoc on our systems you see. Then I'm going to need a clean bed with well laundered sheets, no less than a thread count of four hundred mind you, any less and I can NOT get any sleep, believe me I have tried. Access to a bathroom and or similar facility that has been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, I mean this as no personal slight but I would prefer to not come down with any kind of alien disease that my pony system is unprepared for,"

The assembled mercenaries were clearly starting to no longer find her ramblings amusing as she continued to list her demands, over and over again. Finally no longer able hold his anger in check, the lead thug narrowed his gaze on the chattering Unicorn. "Alright, I think I've heard quite enough of your "requirements" lady. I don't know if you've noticed but we have you outnumbered and outgunned, so I think we'll just be-"

His words fell as flat as he did upon his face when a heavy object connected swiftly with the back of his head. In a likewise manner, his companions fell to the same fate as a series of loud _**THUNKS **_filled the air.

With a pleased smile, Rarity trotted forwards to the unconscious leader of the bounty hunters and bent down beside his ear. "It's a shame you didn't notice the levitating debris behind you or your companions, darling." She cheerfully pointed out before strutting her way past him. Glancing over her shoulder at Simon, she gave him a teasing wink. "Now then, Ortell, what was it you were saying about things being too dangerous for me?"

Before he could make any kind of crass comment on her abilities a red hot kinetic bolt of energy zipped through the air near his head and struck the side of a building. On instinct, Simon dropped low and drew his pistol. Another pair of armed thugs were already letting several fresh energy bolts fly when the smuggler let loose his own barrage. A hail of blaster bolts, that struck everywhere but their targets.

There was a brief and awkward pause between Simon and the bounty hunters as they all three stared in disbelief at wayward blast marks around the ground and shop walls. Before either side could snap back to cohesion, Rarity's aura snagged her companion by the arm and began dragging him quickly down a nearby alleyway.

"That was quite possibly the worst shooting I have ever seen in my life, and my species has just now started learning about blaster technology!" the Unicorn scolded him.

"I'm a better pilot than a shot, okay!" Simon shouted back as he began to join her in a full on run for their lives.

As they rounded a corner, someone shouted out their location before a few more blaster bolts rang out striking the ground and walls near them. "How many of these blasted bounty hunters are in this town!?" Rarity complained before ducking into the next alley.

"We're on the fringe of civilized space," Simon informed her as he fought to keep up with the obviously faster mare, "this place is a prime spot for any spacer, smuggler and of course bounty hunter to stop and fuel up before hitting the deep end of the Outer Rim. And I think they're more interested in getting you than me Ms. Sixteen Hundred!"

"Are you really going to get mad about _that _now!?"

Their escape came to a dead halt when they found themselves facing a dead end in their way. Turning to make for a quick exit, they found themselves face to face with a pair of humanoids pointing blasters at them. "That's far enough, you two!" The tallest of the pair informed them.

"You sure these are the pair from that holo you saw?" his companion asked.

"And just how many humans do you know that are running around with four legged aliens? 'Sides, they look dead on like the holo, man."

From what Rarity had learned of the various races of the galaxy, she could see that these two were most likely rather young, perhaps barely within their teen years. Their faces held a youthful touch to them and neither seemed able to hold their weapon steady as if fearing it more than those they pointed them at. Narrowing her eyes dangerously, the mare took several steps towards the pair.

"Hey, we said to hold still horn-head!" one of the teens yelled at her.

"And just what exactly do you two think you're playing at!?" she snarled at the pair.

Both teenagers flinched at her harsh words but quickly forced themselves to meet her glare. "H-hey, we don't have to take lip like that from you, we're freaking bounty hunters lady! Besides," his tone became a lore bolder, "we've got the guns and that means we control the situation."

Rarity's eyebrow quirked at this idea, "Is that how things work?"

In a flash of blue energy, the blasters were ripped from the hands of the young man and levitated into the air. The weapons made a swift about face and now leveled themselves with their former wielders. Both young men began falling over one another as they scurried and fought to back pedal and run away from the irate Unicorn.

"And don't let me catch either of your _ever_doing anything like this again!" She shouted at the boys as they ran screaming from the alleyway.

"Jeez, Princess, I'd almost forgotten how scary you can be when you're angry," Simon chuckled.

With an annoyed huff, Rarity dropped the weapons into a nearby refuse bin before slamming the lid shut. "Yes, well, their foalish behavior aside, what is our plan now? I highly doubt these ruffians are going to let us leave the planet."

"Yeah, and sending you back to Lorn would only be putting him in unnecessary danger," Simon admitted. "Looks like it's on to plan B."

"And what is plan B?'

"Real simple," Simon replied as he inched his way to the edge of the alley's end and checked for any of their pursuers, "we get to the ship and get the hell off this planet."

"Simple indeed," Rarity commented with a wry smile, "and just how do you plan on getting us there with an entire city looking for us?"

With a cocksure grin, Simon produced his comlink from one of the pouches on his belt. "With a little help of course."

* * *

The quiet and uneventful nature of this afternoon had given the ever wandering mind of the droid R8-Z7 to explore further concepts of being. At times he brushed on the taboo ideals of self awareness, an always dangerous subject for one's circuits to focus on, ever obedient programming however kept these ideals at bay. Still, the concept of whether or not he could say he had any kind of taste due to it having been programmed, was an entertaining examination of self.

After all, most sapient species considered taste to be something that they honed and developed over time. A constantly changing and evolving thing, organics always seemed to excel at evolving.

The Master's new companion no doubt was the reason for these sudden new subjects of study. During the construction of her new coverings, she had inquired much about galactic fashion senses. Being a droid he had very little knowledge on such things, however a quick trip through the holo-net educated himself enough to be of use to her. Now the ideas however lingered in his programmed brain, raising questions of whether or not a droid can develop a sense of taste and fashion.

These musings however came to a crashing halt when a light on the communications hub began flashing, accompanied by a loud beeping noise. Chirping and whistling excitedly, the round little droid made a quick B-line for the control panel. Master was calling, perhaps he had a new task for him!

* * *

"Are you certain this will work?" Rarity asked with a worried tone.

"I've never heard of it not working." Simon replied as he led the pony through the cramped stairwell.

"And just how many times have you done this?"

Simon paused for a moment before flashing her a vaguely confident smile. "First time for everything right?"

Simon continued to lead her up the building they had ducked inside of. It was a less than exquisite apartment building just north of the market district. The worn wooden floor boards creaked and groaned under their feet and hooves as they moved at fast pace through the building. The dimly lit hallways with the occasional bits of garbage and refuse were very little improvement on the streets they had left behind, though provided a touch of security that the streets obviously lacked. Still, the feel of lingering eyes from the peep holes kept both the dressmaker and the smuggler on high alert.

In time the tightly packed feeling of the stairwell gave way to the wide open sky and roof top. Stepping out onto the rooftop, Simon and Rarity both dashed for the nearest piece of cover they could spot, the rickety remains of an air conditioning unit that more than likely no longer worked. Scanning the skies and keeping a tentative eye on the surrounding buildings, Simon retrieved his com-link once again.

"Z, we're on the roof, get your metal butt in gear!" Excited whistles and beeps sounded from the other end of the communicator. "At the moment, I frankly do not care what the control tower is telling you. We're sitting ducks up here Z,"

After a few more chirps from the droid, Simon returned the com unit to its compartment on his belt. "So, Princess, how good of a shot are you?" He asked while producing a small hook connected to a thin strip of rope that fed into yet another belt compartment.

"Probably better than you," she teased him while continuing to scan the area for any signs of the ship.

"You better be right about that," Simon stated as he loaded the grappling hook onto the end of his blaster, "because we only get one chance at this."

Before he could hand the weapon off to the mare, several blaster bolts struck the side of their makeshift cover. The pair ducked away from the impact on reflex just before several others started striking their position.

"Didn't they say that Vrax wanted us alive!?" Rarity shouted over the sounds of blaster bolts striking metal.

"They're keeping us pinned down," Simon snarled as he shrank back from a bolt that struck the ground near his leg, "their friends are probably on the way up here."

The sounds of roaring engines overhead sent a wave of relief through Simon's core as he spotted his beloved ship flying close to the small city's rooftops with the gangway down. "Alright, Rarity, you're up!"

Levitating the weapon turned grappling gun, she began taking careful aim at the closing ship. "Now is probably a bad time to mention I've only fired one of these twice."

All the color flushed from Simon's face at this revelation. Before he could interject however, she sent the tethered hook flying through the air. Time slowed to painful crawl as the projectile inched its way towards the ship. Over his shoulder he could hear the sound of the door to the roof being kicked open, but his eyes refused to pull away from sight of the hook flying towards the ship. His heart skipped a beat when the grappling hook actually managed to strike just beside the gangway and magnetically latch tightly against the hull.

Simon's arms tightly looped around Rarity and held her against his chest. "So, uhm, this is probably going to hurt, a lot." He warned before they yanked into the sky by the surprisingly strong thin rope attached to his belt.

Sure enough, a blinding pain rocketed through Simon's body as the injuries from the beating he'd taken from Vrax were reawakened. Rarity was no better off as the human's arms tightened around her nearly squeezing her uncomfortably when she was yanked roughly into the air. The roar of the ship's engines drowned out their own screams as they were hoisted into the mid afternoon sky through hails of blaster fire. The device attached to Simon's utility belt that had produced the thin cable had begun to retract and pull them closer to the ship as it flew well beyond the outskirts of the city.

In moments, the pair once again found themselves sprawled out on the cold metal floor of the ship after climbing back inside. Through a wall of pain, Simon forced himself to sit up and look to the mare in his arms. "So, was it good for you?" He joked with a roguish grin.

His joke was answered with a swift hoof to his chest that sent him rolling away from her. "Ugh, have some decorum will you, Ortell."

There was little time to rest as a shrill siren split the air. "For the love of… Now what is it?" Rarity asked dejectedly.

"Probably some of their friends in starfighters coming to kill us." Simon pointed out casually before he pulled himself back to his feet. "Things just keep getting interesting when you're around, you know that."

"All I wanted to do was sell my dresses." Rarity hissed at him. "You're the one bringing in the criminal element here!" She declared after getting to her hooves.

After scrambling to the cockpit, Simon quickly strapped himself into his seat and shouted at Rarity to do the same. "Things are about to get really bumpy, Princess." He warned as his hands breezed across the controls at a swift practiced pace. Simon flashed her a wide arrogant grin. "Just sit back and enjoy the ride."

The bulky but swift freighter cut a path across the sky over the planet Orrikal as five smaller, more agile craft followed after it. The fighters themselves were considerably more fragile by comparison to their bulkier prey. Two sets of wings and a pair of tails extended from the stout body of the crafts while a pair of engines kept them aloft. When the distance between them and _Meaningless Venture_ began to close, they let lose a volleys of energy blasts from the weapons mounted at the tips of their wings.

True to his bragging, Simon began dancing and weaving the ship through the hail of blaster fire. The few bolts that could not be avoided struck mostly harmlessly against the thick shields of the star freighter. He could feel the frightened eyes of his passenger upon him with every shudder and shake when the fighters scored their hits.

"Z, see if you can't knock a few of them off our tail," Simon shouted at the droid.

Whistling in compliance, the astromech rolled itself over to one of the consoles and plugged into the well placed data-port. Within the span of a millisecond, his robotic brain had become one with the ship's targeting and weapons systems. The large scale double barrel gun atop the vessel sprang to life and shifted to aim at the pursuing fighters. R8-Z7's droid mind was able to run through the calculations and trajectories of his targets faster than any organic could.

The heavy dual blaster cannon fired a quick succession of blaster bolts that caught the lead ship by surprise. Starship grade bolts of energy ripped past one of the light pursuit fighters' shields and tore the modest armor plating asunder. In a bright flash the ship was reduced to a smoldering pile of slag that was no plummeting towards the planet below. The plucky astromech behind the controls of the weapon let out a chirp of triumph over his victory.

"Great, Z," Simon encouraged him. "Don't get cocky!"

With their leader a smoking wreck falling to the surface, the other four fighters quickly broke off to gain distance and find a new avenue of attack. Simon quickly took the ship into a sharp climb into the upper atmosphere with his newly gained breathing room. Blue sky gave way to the deep black veil of space as the starship broke free of the earthly restrictions. A few flashes of blaster fire from behind however reminded them that they weren't home free yet.

"Why haven't we done that blue tunnel thing!?" Rarity asked with a healthy dose of panic.

"Couple reasons," Simon snarled in a reply as he ducked the bulk of yet another volley of blaster bolts, "for starters we aren't clear of the planet's gravity well yet. Secondly, the engines need time to charge up to make the jump, on top of that the ship needs to align with the right Hyperspace route. All of this makes us a sitting target if those guys overtake us.

"Besides, a blind jump through hyperspace is a sure fire way to get yourself killed." Simon continued as the ship rocked from another direct hit.

"Then what do we do!?"

In the distance was something that caught Simon's attention. The main shipping lane of the planet, lines of ships of varying sizes and ships going to and from the planet's larger settlements. A devious smirk tugged at the edges of his face while his hands gripped the controls tightly.

Rarity noted the sudden change in his demeanor and then the lines of ships ahead of them. "No, oh Celestia, please tell me you are not going to-" her voice trailed off into a scream as the ship's speed quickly jumped, speeding them head on towards the veritable wall of transports.

With several quick maneuvers, the _Meaningless Venture_ slipped through the various lumbering transports and heavy duty freighters. The starfighters chasing after them may have had speed and maneuverability compared to their prey, but none of the remaining four pilots could have predicted the smuggler's desperate and seemingly crazy gamble. The now leader of the mercenary pilots in particular had misjudged his craft's position in the chase, his wing clipping the side of a massive transport. The small fighter lost control and found itself spinning off from the rest of the squadron and well into the droid controlled gun's firing range.

Explosions mixed with blaster fire and ships cutting right through the main shipping lane began to sow all the chaos that Simon needed. The remaining three fighters found it much harder to keep up with him as they now had to duck and weave through the now panicking heavy freighters and transports as well as deal with any of their escort craft. Two of the star fighters were forced into crashing into one another resulting in another explosion that rocked the ship.

As the final fighter finally broke free of the chaos it found itself no longer the pursuer, but the pursued. The _Meaningless Venture_ brought its game to bear with the tiny craft before unleashing a volley of heavy energy bolts. The smaller craft like the others was no match for the heavy blaster cannon. Within seconds the fighter craft is in vaporized in a burst of blaster fire.

"We're all clear, set the coordinates, Z!" Simon shouted as he breezed his hands over the controls.

The black void of space began to shift and distort until in a bright flash it was replaced with the blue tunnel of hyperspace. With a sigh of relief, Simon fell back against his chair and finally let out the breath he'd been unconsciously holding. A pair of soft but amazingly strong limbs wrapped around his neck before he felt the silky touch of Rarity's cheek against his. He couldn't help but laugh along with the jubilant Unicorn as she celebrated their near death escape. Without thinking, his arms snaked around her and returned the hug.

There was an awkward silence however when the pair found themselves eye to eye. Just as quickly as it happened, the pair pulled away and returned to their seats. Simon kept the back of his chair to her as he pretended to be working on something with the ship. Rarity merely sat back in her chair and stared off at the effects of hyperspace.

"I believe I'll retire for the time being." Rarity said, breaking the silence. "Nearly getting killed certainly takes its toll."

"Yeah, sorry about that again," Simon replied still keeping his back to her. "We'll be making a few random jumps to make sure we don't get tracked. Go ahead and get some rest."

He listened to the sound of her hooves on the metal floor of the ship as she made her exit from the cockpit. The smuggler couldn't help but venture a glance past the high back of the seat and watch her leave before returning his full attention to the controls in front of him. A touch of red however entered his face as the ghostly warmth of her cheek against his still lingered.


End file.
